Phrases and clauses are key parts of building sentences. Both are groups of words that make up sentences but they are formed in different ways and have different functions.
Here you will learn about the difference between a phrase and clause.
A clause is a group of words that:
Clauses that express a complete thought are independent clauses. Dependent clauses do not express a complete thought, but they still contain a subject and verb.
In these examples of clauses, the subject is in red and the verb green:
I will arrive at 5 o'clock
He didn't take the opportunity to apply for the job
The political situation in the country is terrible
When the bus arrives . (adverb clause)
. that we should not go (noun clause)
. which was not very easy ( relative clause )
So as you can see, all the clauses have subjects and verbs, and the independent clauses also express a complete thought, meaning that they make sense alone. This is not the case with phrases.
A phrase is a group of words that:
In these phrases, the underlined part is the key to identifying the type of phrase, as it is the head word. The other words will be modifying it or complementing it in some way:
a very nice house (noun phrase)
went to town (verb phrase)
before the show ( adverbial phrase of time)
taking him at face value ( present participle phrase )
Caught out by the change ( past participle phrase )
Of course a phrase could consist of more than one phrase once you break it down and add or remove certain parts of it:
Now you understand the difference between phrases and clauses, you can see how they are used within sentences.
Take a look at this sentence, which you can see has a mix of phrases and clauses:
John had to work extremely hard but he passed his exams
Now test your knowledge in this phrases and clauses quiz.
The two types of clauses in English grammar are the independent and dependent clause. Both have a subject and verb which makes them clauses, but while independent clauses express a complete thought, dependent clauses do not. This is the main distinction.
Parallelism is about balancing the grammatical structure of words, phrases and clauses in your sentences. Parallel structure will improve your writing's coherence.
This lesson teachers you what this is and how you can use it effectively in your writing." width="" height="" />
Nominalisation is an important aspect of academic writing. This lesson teachers you what this is and how you can use it effectively in your writing.
Advice on how to use either and neither in English grammar. They can be adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and conjunctions.
Here we demystify subject complements, predicate adjectives, and predicate nominatives with simple explanations and examples.
Direct and indirect objects are key parts of most sentences. A direct object is the receiver of action while indirect object identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed.
View examples of parallelism in English grammar that show you correct and incorrect parallel sentences.
The main parts of a sentence are subjects, verbs, objects, predicates, and subject complements. All of these have a specific purpose within the structure of a sentence.
and their outcomes." width="" height="" />
Using object complements in a sentence enhances your ability to convey specific information about actions and their outcomes.
The 8 parts of speech are Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Verbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Conjunctions, and Interjections. Learn about the function of each of these grammatical categories.
Any questions or comments about the grammar discussed on this page?
Post your comment here.
Sign up for free grammar tips, quizzes and lessons, straight into your inbox
