Elements of a Sentence : Phrases and Clauses

The subject is the part of a sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about.

The predicate is the part of a sentence that tells something about the subject, usually containing a verb.

An independent clause is a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence; it has a subject and a predicate.

A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence; it depends on an independent clause to provide meaning.

A phrase is a group of words that work together but do not contain both a subject and a verb.

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.

The subject is 'The dog'.

The predicate is 'slept on the mat'.

A phrase does not have both a subject and a verb, while a clause does.

'She enjoys reading books.'