Phrase Versus Clauses

• What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

• How can phrases and clauses be used to vary sentence structure?

a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate

​Clauses

a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not form a complete sentence.

​Phrases

• Prepositional Phrases

  • phrases containing a preposition and its object

    • Example: We ran around the yard.

• Appositive Phrases

  • a noun phrase or pronoun phrase placed directly after another noun

    • Example: Kaylee, my sister, is an engineer.

• Gerund Phrases

  • a verb + ing that functions as a noun

    • Example: Running laps is great exercise.

• Infinitive Phrases

  • To + a verb and its object

  • Example: Most people really love to sleep all day.

• Participle Phrases

  • A phrase in which a verb is used as an adjective

  • Example: Dressed in all white, the bride walked down the aisle.

A clause with a subject and a predicate that does not form a complete sentence.

​Dependent Clause

A clause with both a subject and a predicate that forms a complete sentence.

​Independent Clause

​Dependent Clause Examples

• Because he gave her a puppy

• When the saints go marching in

• After we went swimming

These are all dependent clauses. They have subject and verbs but they do not make sense on their own and must be added to a independent clause to form a sentence.