Clauses and Phrases
A clause has a subject and verb; a phrase does not.
About this topic
A clause contains a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence ("I like tea"); a dependent (subordinate) clause cannot ("because it is warm"). A phrase is a group of words lacking a subject–verb pair: noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, participial phrase and so on. Understanding the difference is the foundation of punctuation and sentence variety.
Dependent clauses come in three kinds: noun clauses (What she said surprised me), adjective or relative clauses (the man who called me), and adverb clauses (when the bell rang). Phrases act as single parts of speech: "running down the hill" is a participial phrase describing a noun, and "to win the race" is an infinitive phrase.
Worked example: in "After the storm passed, the children, who were bored, ran into the garden", there are one independent clause (the children ran into the garden), and two dependent clauses (after the storm passed; who were bored), plus the prepositional phrase into the garden.
Common mistakes include writing a dependent clause as a full sentence, producing a fragment, and misplacing modifier phrases. A quick check is to see whether the group of words has its own subject and a finite verb, and whether it makes complete sense alone. Learning this gives you control over commas, semicolons and sentence combining.
Key ideas
- Independent clauses stand alone
- Dependent clauses need support
- Fix run-ons and fragments
Quick check
Use cases: where Clauses and Phrases helps
- Homework: review the key idea behind Clauses and Phrases before you start a problem set.
- Exam revision: use the quick check to test whether you can recall Clauses and Phrases without notes.
- Visual learning: play with the interactive lab to see how Clauses and Phrases changes when you adjust its inputs.
- Teaching a friend: explain Clauses and Phrases in your own words, then compare your version with the key ideas.
Strong reading and writing are needed in every subject, job and exam.
Frequently asked questions
What is Clauses and Phrases?
A clause has a subject and verb; a phrase does not.
What will I learn in Clauses and Phrases?
Independent clauses stand alone. Dependent clauses need support. Fix run-ons and fragments.
Is Clauses and Phrases part of English?
Yes. It is one of 60 English topics on LearnViz HighSchoolEdu, with 3 key ideas, a live animation and a quick check.
Does the Clauses and Phrases lab work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The animation resizes to fit your screen and supports touch, so you can drag, tap and slide with your finger.
How should I study Clauses and Phrases?
Read the summary and key ideas first, play with the interactive lab to see the idea in motion, then answer the quick check. If you get a question wrong, go back to the key idea it tests.
Do I need an account, and is my progress saved?
No account is needed. Marking a topic as learned is saved in your own browser, so it stays on that device and is not sent to a server.