Phrases and Clauses

Front

What is a phrase?

Back

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject-verb pair and does not express a complete thought. Example: 'through the architecture'.

Front

What is a clause?

Back

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It can express a complete thought (independent clause) or an incomplete thought (dependent clause). Example: 'You are a wise man'.

Front

What is an independent clause?

Back

An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Example: 'I ran from left to right'.

Front

What is a dependent clause?

Back

A dependent clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and depends on an independent clause. Example: 'Although I was tired'.

Front

Identify the phrase in this sentence: 'The cat on the roof is mine.'

Back

The phrase is 'on the roof'.

Front

Identify the clause in this sentence: 'When the sun sets, the sky turns orange.'

Back

The clause is 'the sky turns orange'.

Front

What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

Back

A phrase does not have a subject-verb pair and cannot stand alone, while a clause has a subject-verb pair and can be independent or dependent.

Front

Give an example of a dependent clause.

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Example: 'Because I was late'.

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Give an example of an independent clause.

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Example: 'She loves to read books.'

Front

What is a noun phrase?

Back

A noun phrase is a phrase that has a noun as its main word, along with any modifiers. Example: 'the big red ball'.