Types of Phrases and Clauses

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What is a phrase?

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A phrase is a group of words that work together but do not contain a subject-verb pair and do not express a complete thought.

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What is a clause?

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A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It can express a complete thought (independent clause) or not (dependent clause).

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What is an independent clause?

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An independent clause has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a sentence.

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What is a dependent (subordinate) clause?

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A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a sentence.

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What is a participial phrase?

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A participial phrase begins with a participle (a verb form ending in -ing or -ed) and acts as an adjective, modifying a noun.

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What is a gerund?

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A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun in a sentence.

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What is an infinitive?

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An infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually preceded by 'to', and can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

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What is a prepositional phrase?

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A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and includes the object of the preposition, providing additional information about time, location, or direction.

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What is an appositive?

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An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames or provides additional information about another noun next to it.

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Example of a participial phrase:

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'Running down the street, the dog barked loudly.' (The phrase 'Running down the street' modifies 'the dog').