While clauses and phrases might appear interchangeable, they are quite different, and it is important to understand those differences if only to know what sort of punctuation to use: commas, semicolons, or colons.
Phrase Sample:
We can meet before English, during lunch, or after school.
Clause Sample:
Later I have to clean my room, take my brother to the doctor, and take out the garbage.
Clauses
A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb (a predicate) and is essentially an expanded phrase. There are two primary clauses: the independent clause and the dependent clause, a.k.a., subordinate clause.
The independent clause is a complete sentence with a subject and a predicate (a.k.a., verb) that is the entire thought or action.
The dependent clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that is not a complete sentence (think sentence fragment) and does not convey a complete thought, although it does have different functions within a sentence. Dependent clauses can be specific to different parts of grammar:
- Adjectival Clause, a.k.a., Relative Clause
- Adverbial Clause
- Conditional Clause
- Dependent Clause
- Elliptical Clause
- Independent Clause
- Introductory Clause
- Noun Clause
- Relative Clause (a.k.a., non-restrictive /restrictive or essential/nonessential clauses or adjectival clause)
- Finite Clause can be both an independent and a dependent clause while the Non-Finite Clause is usually dependent
Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that does not contain a subject-verb relationship, such as in the morning or running down the street or having grown used to this harassment.
You may also hear a phrase referred to as a constituent, which is simply “any word or group of words functioning as a single unit within a hierarchical structure” (Constituent).
Naturally, grammarians have run amuck categorizing phrases such as:
- Absolute Phrase
- Adjective Phrase
- Adverbial Phrase
- Appositive Phrase
- Gerund Phrase
- Infinitive Phrase
- Introductory Phrase
- Noun Phrase
- Participial Phrase
- Prepositional Phrase
- Transitional Phrase
- Verb Phrase
Grammar Explanations is . . .
. . . evolving list of the structural rules and principles that determines where words are placed in phrases or sentences as well as how the language is spoken. Sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better or another “also known as”. Heck, there’s always a better way to explain it, so if it makes quicker and/or better sense, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone . . . Are there areas of grammar with which you struggle?
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Grammar Explanations by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Clause versus Phrase
“Constituent: Linguistics.” Wikivisually. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)>.
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Revised as of 10 Dec 2022
By: Kathy Davie