Knowledge Builders

what is a sentence clause and phrase

by Adrian Conn Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

Phrases and clauses are both important groups of words that make up sentences, but clauses are complete thoughts that can function on their own. Learn more about these parts of speech and writing in English grammar.Aug 11, 2021

Full Answer

What are the types of clauses and phrases?

Types of Clauses

  • Independent Clause
  • Dependent Clause Adjective Clause Noun Clause Adverbial Clause
  • Principal Clause
  • Coordinate Clause
  • Non-finite Clause

What is the definition of clauses and phrases?

Phrases and clauses are groups of words that act as a unit and perform a single function within a sentence. A phrase is a group of words that may have a partial subject or verb but not both, or it may have neither a subject nor a verb. Phrases never have a subject doing the action of a verb. A clause, however, is by definition a group of words that has a subject and a verb.

What is the relationship between clauses and sentences?

What is the difference between Sentence and Clause?

  • A sentence is complete in construction and sense. ...
  • There are several kinds of sentences such as declarative or assertive sentence, interrogative sentence, exclamatory sentence and imperative sentences.
  • It can be said that a clause forms a part of a sentence.
  • A clause usually contains a subject and a predicate. ...

What is a clause and a phrase?

DEFINITION OF CLAUSE AND PHRASE: • A clause is a group of words with a subject-verb unit; the 2nd group of words contains the subject-verb unit the bus goes, so it is a clause. • A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb unit. If we try to change the time or tense of the lst group of words, we cannot, because it contains no word that changes to show time or tense.

image

What is sentence phrase and clause examples?

Some of the clauses contain phrases, like “She laughs at shy people.” “She laughs” is a clause, and “at shy people” is a phrase that complements the clause and completes the sentence. Phrases can be any combination of words that do not combine a subject and a verb.

What is an example of a sentence clause?

I want to buy a phone, but I don't have enough money. (Two independent clauses) He went to London and visited the Lords. (Subject of the second clause is 'he,' so “he visited the Lords” is an independent clause.)

What are the phrases and clauses?

What Is a Phrase? A group of two or more words in a sentence related to each other or acting as a single unit but does not have a subject or a predicate. What Is a Clause? These are also a group of words in a sentence that have a subject and a predicate (or verb).

What is a phrase in a sentence?

A phrase is a group of words that works together in a sentence but does not contain a subject or a verb. Often phrases are used for descriptions of people, things, or events. Examples: Filled with joy, the girl jumped up and down. The man with the red jacket is my father.

What are 5 examples of phrases?

5 Examples of PhrasesNoun Phrase; Friday became a cool, wet afternoon.Verb Phrase; Mary might have been waiting outside for you..Gerund Phrase; Eating ice cream on a hot day can be a good way to cool off.Infinitive Phrase; She helped to build the roof.Prepositional Phrase; In the kitchen, you will find my mom.

What are the 5 examples of clause?

So CLAUSE = SUBJECT + PREDICATE (VERB). [ A point to be remembered here is that, a sentence must contain both subject and verb at least once....Now let's see about the classification of clauses in various ways.Independent Clauses. ... Dependent Clauses. ... Adjective Clauses. ... Noun Clauses. ... Adverbial Clauses.

What are 10 phrases examples?

Examples are:The book was on the table.We camped by the brook.He knew it was over the rainbow.She was lost in the dark of night.He was between a rock and a hard place.I waited for a while.She smelled of strawberries and cream.He won the challenge against all odds.

What are clauses 10 examples?

Examples of Phrases and ClausesPhrasesClausesBest friendBecause he gave her a puppyOn the horizonWhen the saints go marching inAfter the devastationI waited for himBecause of her glittering smileHe wants to become an engineer2 more rows

How do you identify a clause?

A clause is a group of words that tells you two things. First, it has a subject: that's who or what is doing something. Second, it has a predicate: that's the action the subject is doing. “They run” is a clause. It tells you the who (they) and the action (run).

What are 2 examples of phrases?

Some examples of phrases include: after the meal (prepositional phrase) the nice neighbor (noun phrase) were waiting for the movie (verb phrase)

What are phrases 3 examples?

A phrase is any collection of related words that, unlike a sentence, has no combination of subject-predicate. The words in a phrase function together so that the phrase itself acts as a single part of speech. Phrases can never stand alone as sentences. For example, He is playing with his toy.

What is phrases give one example?

"Sentences can be divided into groups of words that belong together. For instance, in the nice unicorn ate a delicious meal, the, nice, and unicorn form one such group, and a, delicious, and meal form another. (We all know this intuitively.) The group of words is called a phrase.

What is 10 examples of sentences?

10 examples of sentencesMary enjoys cooking.She likes bananas.They speak English at work.The train does not leave at 12 AM.I have no money at the moment.Do they talk a lot ?Does she drink coffee?You run to the party.More items...

What is the clause write one example?

It is also called a principal clause. It has both a subject and a verb, it can also act as a sentence. These cannot be simply used as nouns, adverbs or adjectives as they act as a sentence. Example: She is intelligent.

What is a 2 clause sentence?

Compound sentences - a sentence made up of two main clauses and connected with a coordinating conjunction.

What are the 7 types of clauses?

Independent Clause.Subordinate Clause.Adjective Clause.Adverbial Clause.Noun Clause.Relative Clause.Conditional Clause.

What is a phrase in a sentence?

Any group of meaningful words that don’t make complete sense is a phrase . If taken alone i.e. without other words, it will not be meaningful at all.preposition and a However, a phrase occurs inside a sentence as its structural part.

What is a verb phrase?

Verb Phrase: This phrase will contain a main verb and one or more helping verb. These two will have a link that connects them together. This phrase will define the various times of the action in a sentence. For example, The car is moving in a circle. Will he be eating the entire buffet? How are you doing? These are some of the common examples and the structure is auxiliary/modal verb + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb (as in the sentence above).

What is the main clause?

Clauses are of following types: Main or Independent Clause: The main clause is that part of a sentence that not only contains the subject and the predicate but also makes perfect sense if we take it out of the sentence. in other words we can say that this clause does not need a context to make sense.

What are some examples of phrases?

Some of the examples of phrases are: in ten steps, the great man, a pink flower, the thick canopy, expansion term, etc. Phrases are of several types as follows: Prepositional Phrase: This group of words begin with a preposition. The preposition precedes a noun or a pronoun or something which acts as a noun or a pronoun.

What is a subordinate clause?

Subordinate or Dependent Clause: A subordinate or a dependent clause must also contain the subject and the predicate. The only condition is that these kinds of clauses won’t make proper sense without another clause. The dependent clause depends on the main clause for deriving a proper meaning.

What are the most important structural units of language?

Phrases, Clauses and Sentences are the most important structural units of language. They provide structure and meaning to almost all the languages. The phrases and clauses provide a sense to a sentence. Here we will discuss this and learn about the constituents of a sentence structure with the help of interesting example sentence for each.

What is an independent clause?

Ans: The clause has to be the main clause or an independent clause. An independent clause is a clause that makes complete sense. Since a sentence also has to make sense to its reader, every sentence that has a single clause must have a main clause. The main clause makes a sentence in itself.

What are the different types of dependent clauses?

Common types of dependent clauses are relative clauses, noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverbial clauses. Relative clauses begin with relative pronouns, and noun clauses function as either the subject or object of a sentence.

Why do we use appositives?

You use one-word appositives to clarify which specific noun you are talking about. Appositive phrases work the same way, except they use more than one word. Here are some sentences with appositive phrases:

What is a participant in a sentence?

Participles are similar to gerunds in that they use verbs in a different way. Participial phrases typically begin with a participle (verb used as an adjective) and the modifiers that follow. Like adjectives, they modify nouns.

What is a noun phrase?

Noun Phrases. A noun phrase, also known as a nominal, functions as a noun in a sentence. It includes a noun and its modifiers, which describe more about the noun. You can use adjective phrases to further describe a noun. Examples of noun phrases include:

What is a gerund?

A gerund is an -ing verb used as a noun. When you use a gerund phrase, you’re basically using a noun phrase with a gerund instead of a noun. For example:

What is a clause in a sentence?

Clauses are the backbone of a sentence. They contain the subject and predicate that make a sentence complete. While some clauses can’t stand alone as their own sentences, they must have a subject and verb to be classified as a clause.

What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

However, there is an easy way to tell if you’re using a phrase or a clause. The main difference is that clauses have both a subject and a predicate; phrases do not. Phrases are part of clauses.

What are clauses and phrases?

What Are Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences. Phrases and clauses are the building blocks of sentences. Phrases are groups of words that act as a part of speech but cannot stand alone as a sentence. The words in a phrase act together so that the phrase itself functions as a single part of speech.

What is an independent clause?

Independent clauses express a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. Subordinate clauses can act as parts of speech but depend on the rest of the sentence to express a complete thought. A sentence expresses a complete thought and contains a subject (a noun or pronoun) and a predicate (a verb or verb phrase).

What is a phrase in speech?

I will agree to. A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb component, used as a single part of speech . Examples: Best friend (this phrase acts as a noun) Needing help (this phrase acts as an adjective; see Adjectives and Adverbs )

What is an independent clause?

A clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb. An independent clause is a simple sentence. It can stand on its own. Examples: She is hungry. I am feeling well today. A dependent clause cannot stand on its own. It needs an independent clause to complete a sentence. Dependent clauses often begin with such words as although, since, if, ...

What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

Difference Between Phrase & Clause. Phrase. Clause. A group of words standing together as a conceptual unit and do not have a subject and a verb. A grammatical arrangement that contains a set of words having a subject and a verb. Phrase is component of a clause. Clause is a component of a complete sentence.

Is a phrase a clause?

Phrase is component of a clause. Clause is a component of a complete sentence. Each word of a phrase has a meaning but collectively it does not form complete sense like a sentence. i.e. it does not give a complete meaning when standalone.

What is the subject of a sentence?

Subject: The subject of the sentence is the person, place or thing whom we talk about or is performing the action of the sentence. Predicate: The predicate says something about the subject. It consist of the ‘verb’ and the complement which comes after the verb and with subject of the sentence unlike the clause always gives complete sense, ...

What are the three structures of grammar?

These three structure are common part of English grammar. Whatever we say that is made of phrase, clause and sentence . These three structures have different roles and functions. Learning the difference between them will help you to improve both in written and spoken forms. Check out clause, phrase and sentence differences in the article below.

Can a clause be a simple sentence?

The clause may stand as a simple sentence or may join another clause to make a sentence. As like sentence a clause also contains subject and predicate, if it gives complete sense we can call it a sentence but if it does not give complete sense on that time that is called clause.

Can a phrase be used alone?

A phrase has neither subject nor verb, and can’t be used alone, it should be used within a sentence. And a phrase functions as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective or preposition in a sentence. He is laughing at the joker. You must come on time. Note the difference between sentence, clause and phrase in the example below:

What is a sentence?

A sentence is what you will have between a capital letter and the full-stop. So these are sentences:

How do I recognise different sentence clauses?

You can do this through the different linking words that join the sentence clauses . Compound sentences ( independent clauses) are joined with these coordinating conjunctions:

What is a sentence clause?

Sentence Clauses. Sentence clauses are the building blocks of writing and you need to understand what a clause is in order to write effective sentences, especially for academic writing. In order to begin to understand this, you need to be clear about the difference between a sentence and a clause .

What is a simple sentence?

These are all called simple sentences: a sentence consisting of one independent clause.

What is a clause then?

A clause then is a group of words with a subject and a main verb.

Is inflation increasing or keeping under control?

Although inflation is increasing / that it can be kept under control . There is more to dependent clauses than this as they can be categorised into different types ( e.g. noun clauses, adjective clauses, and relative clauses ). Here you can learn more about these types of dependent clause .

Do you need an independent clause to complete a sentence?

To be a complete thought they need an independent clause. When we then put the dependent and independent clauses together, we have complex sentences: sentences consisting of dependent and independent clauses.

How to make a dependent clause complete?

To make the dependent clause a complete thought we need an independent clause with it: After Emma arrived home, she ate a sandwich. dependent clause + independent clause = complete thought. A dependent clause may come before or after the independent clause, so this sentence is just as accurate. Emma ate a sandwich after she arrived home.

What is a clause in a sentence?

A clause is a group of words which contains at least a subject and a verb. In this, clauses are like sentences, and a clause may stand as a sentence if it makes sense as a complete thought. However, clauses are not always a complete thought and so may need to be joined with other clauses to express a complete thought, and become a sentence.

What are the different types of sentences?

They end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark depending on what type of sentence they are and what they are communicating – there are 4 categories: Statement. used when stating information (also called declarative sentences)

What is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words which communicate a complete thought or idea. The most basic sentence in English contains only a subject and a verb. I ran. He slept.

Does a complex sentence have a subordinating conjunction?

We saw above that dependent clauses use subordinating conjunctions, so it’s of no surprise that a complex sentence will contain a subordinating conjunction. Because John is moving to France, he is learning French.

When to use the imperative?

Imperative. used when giving commands (also called command sentences) Open the door. A sentence may contain only a couple of words, as we’ve seen above, or can be longer and have a more complex construction, and this is when clauses may be used.

Does not express a complete thought?

does not express a complete thought so can not stand on its own, and must be combined with at least an independent clause to make a complete thought and therefore a sentence.#N#The structure is:

What is a Clause in a Sentence?

What is a clause? In its simplest form, a clause in grammar is a subject plus a verb. The subject is the entity “doing” the action of the sentence and the verb is the action that subject completes. A clause creates a complete thought (an idea or a statement that can stand alone).

What is an Independent Clause?

Independent clause definition: An independent clause can stand alone in a sentence. It contains a subject and a verb in its smallest form. A clause may also include modifiers and a verb predicate. It is a complete thought and the smallest unit of grammar that is syntactically accurate.

What is an Adverbial Clause?

Adverbial clause definition: An adverbial clause is a type of dependent clause that acts as an adverb in the sentence. An adverbial clause will always contain a subject and a verb. However, it cannot stand alone as a complete thought.

What is a noun clause?

Noun clause definition: A noun clause is a type of dependent clause that acts as a noun in the sentence. A noun clause will always contain a subject and a verb. However, it cannot stand alone as a complete thought.

What are the two types of clauses?

Two types of clauses are main/independent clause and dependent clause. An independent clause can stand alone as a complete thought. A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone.

Why is the entire sentence an independent clause?

The entire sentence is an independent clause because it is a complete thought statement.

What is a complete thought?

A clause creates a complete thought (an idea or a statement that can stand alone). A complete thought is also called a main clause or independent clause (IC).

image

Phrases, Clauses and Sentences

  • A complete understanding of the structural parameters is crucial to the understanding of the meaning of sentences. Here we will study all of the three components of a sentence structure, one by one. Let us begin with phrases.
See more on toppr.com

Phrase

  • Any group of meaningful words that don’t make complete sense is a phrase. If taken alone i.e. without other words, it will not be meaningful at all.preposition and a However, a phrase occurs inside a sentence as its structural part. Some of the examples of phrases are: in ten steps, the great man, a pink flower, the thick canopy, expansion term, etc. Phrases are of several types as …
See more on toppr.com

Clause

  • A clause is also a group of words but this group must contain the subject and a predicate. Hence, a clause can make complete sense even when present outside the sentence. A clause is that part of a sentence that contains the subject and the predicate. For example, I have a dog. The snow is fallingsince yesterday. Clauses are of following types: 1. Main or Independent Clause: The main …
See more on toppr.com

Sentence and Sentence Structure

  • We define a sentence as a collection of words that make a certain intended sense. The definition is also sometimes put as a collection or group of words that make sense to a reader. Grammatically, we say that a sentence must have a predefined structure. A sentence may contain a subject, a predicate, verbs and auxiliary verbs etc. A sentence could be a command, a statem…
See more on toppr.com

Solved Examples For You

  • Q: A sentence has only one clause. What type of clause is it and why? Ans: The clause has to be the main clause or an independent clause. An independent clause is a clause that makes complete sense. Since a sentence also has to make sense to its reader, every sentence that has a single clause must have a main clause. The main clause makes a sentence in itself.
See more on toppr.com

1.Clause, Phrase, Sentence – Learn the Difference

Url:https://www.eurocentres.com/blog/clause-phrase-sentence-learn-the-difference

26 hours ago Phrases and clauses are the building blocks of sentences. Phrases are groups of words that act as a part of speech but cannot stand alone as a sentence. The words in a phrase act …

2.Videos of What Is A Sentence CLAUSE and PHRASE

Url:/videos/search?q=what+is+a+sentence+clause+and+phrase&qpvt=what+is+a+sentence+clause+and+phrase&FORM=VDRE

17 hours ago A clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb. An independent clause is a simple sentence. It can stand on its own. Examples: She is hungry. I am feeling well today. A …

3.Phrase vs. Clause: Identifying the Differences

Url:https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/vs/phrase-vs-clause-identifying-the-differences.html

1 hours ago Phrases and clauses are the key building blocks of sentences. A clause contains a subject and a verb and can express a complete thought. A phrase does not contain a subject or verb.

4.What Are Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences - CliffsNotes

Url:https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/grammar/phrases-clauses-and-sentences/what-are-phrases-clauses-and-sentences

25 hours ago A clause is a group of words which contains at least a subject and a verb. In this, clauses are like sentences, and a clause may stand as a sentence if it makes sense as a complete …

5.Clauses and Phrases | Grammar Rules

Url:https://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/clause-phrase.asp

26 hours ago Noun clause definition: A noun clause is a type of dependent clause that acts as a noun in the sentence. A noun clause will always contain a subject and a verb. However, it cannot stand …

6.Difference between Phrase and Clause with Examples

Url:https://byjus.com/govt-exams/difference-between-phrase-and-clause/

15 hours ago

7.Clause, Phrase and Sentence Differences - Learn ESL

Url:https://www.learnesl.net/clause-phrase-and-sentence-differences/

34 hours ago

8.Sentence Clauses - what are clauses in a sentence?

Url:https://www.grammarwiz.com/sentence-clauses.html

29 hours ago

9.Difference between clause and sentence with examples

Url:https://www.natterandramble.co.uk/difference-between-clause-and-sentence-with-examples/

33 hours ago

10.What is a Clause? Definition, Examples of Clauses in …

Url:https://writingexplained.org/grammar-dictionary/clauses

22 hours ago

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9