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: 'under the table'.

Front

What is a clause?

Back

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It can be independent (expresses a complete thought) or dependent (does not express a complete thought). Example: 'I study hard'.

Front

What is an independent clause?

Back

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Example: 'She loves to read.'

Front

What is a dependent clause?

Back

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought. Example: 'Although she was tired'.

Front

Identify the underlined part: 'I study hard so I get good grades.'

Back

The underlined part is a clause.

Front

Identify the underlined part: 'Linda, a girl in my class, was absent today.'

Back

The underlined part is a phrase.

Front

What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

Back

A phrase does not have a subject-verb pair and does not express a complete thought, while a clause has a subject-verb pair and can express a complete thought (independent clause) or not (dependent clause).

Front

Give an example of a phrase.

Back

Example: 'Running in the park'.

Front

Give an example of a dependent clause.

Back

Example: 'Because it was raining'.

Front

Give an example of an independent clause.

Back

Example: 'He finished his homework.'