Thông thường, mệnh đề phụ thuộc bắt đầu với các liên từ phụ thuộc (Subordinating conjunctions) như sau:  

• Although / Even though / Though
• After / Since / Until /While / As / Before / When
• If / Because / Unless
• Whenever / Whereas / Wherever  

Ví dụ:

=> Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon , I did not see them at the station.
=> While he waited at the train station, Joe realized that the train was late.
=> After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station.
=> Though he was very rich, he was still very unhappy.
=> She returned the computer after she noticed it was damaged.
=> The movie, though very long, was still very enjoyable.