Phrases and Clauses [Lesson]
Pujarinee Mitra
Overview and Description
This lesson aims to acquaint students with the definitions of phrases and clauses and their various types along with their use in sentences and paragraphs.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this assignment, students will
- define and distinguish the various types of phrases and clauses.
- analyze sample texts to recognize and label what phrases and clauses are present.
- construct sentences that incorporate specific types of phrases and clauses.
Phrases and Clauses
PHRASE
A phrase is a group of words/part of a sentence that does not have a subject and a predicate. For instance- After a long walk, we go for dinner.
Phrases can be of various kinds depending on the way they are used in a sentence. There are eight kinds of phrases: Noun phrase, Verb phrase, Gerund phrase, Infinitive phrase, Appositive phrase, Prepositional phrase, Participial phrase, and Absolute phrase.
Noun phrase
A noun phrase functions as a noun in a sentence and might also include adjectives and some modifiers to the noun. For instance, I bought a small ham sandwich for breakfast.
Verb phrase
A verb phrase functions as a verb in a sentence and might also include linking verbs. For instance, The students have been studying in the classroom.
Gerund phrase
A gerund is an -ing verb that is used as a noun. This means that when you are using a gerund phrase, you are essentially using a noun phrase with the gerund instead of with a noun. For instance, Walking to my class always helps me achieve my goal steps for the day.
Infinitive phrase
An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive (a verb that functions as another part of speech, generally beginning with a ‘to’, like ‘to give’, ‘to eat’ and so on) and its modifiers. For instance, Sanya loved to sing rock ballads.
Appositive phrase
An appositive phrase is a noun or noun phrase that modifies or clarifies another noun phrase. For instance, My daughter Sara is the lead guitarist in that band.
In this sentence, the noun ‘daughter’ clarifies the noun ‘Sara’.
Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase is a phrase that consists of a preposition and its modifiers. For instance, She boarded the train on time.
Participial phrase
A participial phrase is a phrase that consists of a participle (a verb form that can be used as an adjective) and its modifiers. For instance, Trembling from head to toe from the cold, Anna put on her trench coat.
Absolute phrase
An absolute phrase consists of a noun and its modifiers and might include a participle or participial phrase. For instance, There was no bus in sight and I, scorched from the mid-day sun and starving since morning, booked an Uber.
CLAUSE
A clause is a group of words/part of a sentence that has a subject and a predicate. For instance, My father remembers when they had to skip school because of the war.
Clauses can be of various types depending on the way they function in a sentence. There are primarily five kinds of clauses: Independent clause, Dependent clause (subdivisible into Adjective clause, Noun clause, and Adverbial clause), Principal clause, Coordinate clause, and Non-finite clause.
Independent clause
An independent clause is one that functions on its own in a sentence. It uses coordinators like ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘so’, ‘nor’, ‘or’, ‘yet’, ‘for’. For instance, Rachel coughs whenever she sees him (one independent clause); We could drive to Target or we could walk to Kohls (two independent clauses).
Dependent clause
A dependent clause cannot function on its own in a sentence and needs a subordinate clause to complete its meaning. For instance, When I was working at the gas station, I saw a man with a gun; I saw the piano that Ryan plays at night.
Adjective clause
This kind of dependent clause modifies a noun in a sentence. For instance, Maya is looking for the cable that was plugged into her laptop.
Noun clause
This is the kind of dependent clause that acts as a noun in a sentence. For instance, Samantha knows what happened last night.
Adverbial clause
This is the kind of dependent clause that acts as an adverb in a sentence. For instance, Linda ran the marathon until her legs gave up.
Principal clause
A principal clause is identical to an independent clause in its function, that is, it has a subject, a finite verb, and an object, and it makes a meaningful sentence on its own. For instance, Raya rode the bike; Ned swam in the pool.
Coordinate clause
Like the principal clause, a coordinate clause makes complete sense on its own but unlike a principal clause, it cannot form a sentence independently. For instance, she gets up early in the morning and makes breakfast for the kids.
Non-finite clause
In a non-finite clause, the subject and verb are hidden but the participle or the infinitive verb makes them evident. For instance, she watched the actor (who was) performing solo on stage. The ‘who was’ is hidden but made evident by the infinitive verb ‘performing.’
Downloadable Resources (Worksheet)
Click here to download a Word Doc version of a worksheet for this lesson:
Attribution:
Pujarinee, Mitra. “Phrases and Clauses [Lesson].” Strategies, Skills and Models for Student Success in Writing and Reading Comprehension. College Station: Texas A&M University, 2024. This work is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
