Phrases and Clauses

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

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject-verb pair and does not express a complete thought.

Ask who or what the sentence is about.

An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence because it expresses a complete thought.

A dependent clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it does not express a complete thought.

The subject is 'The cat.'

The verb is 'barked.'

A phrase does not have a subject-verb pair, while a clause does.

'Although it was raining' is a dependent clause.

'She enjoys reading books' is an independent clause.