Clauses and Phrases

CLAUSES AND PHRASES

In order to perfect your knowledge of grammar, it is essential that you learn three simple concepts, but you must learn them backwards, forwards, and in your sleep! In order to learn these three concepts, you must first review verbs and subjects.

1. Phrase: a group of words that has no verb or subject.

Not all sentences have phases.
Since all sentences must have a subject, a verb and a complete thought, a phrase cannot be sentence by itself.

2. Main Clause: a group of words that has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.

All sentences have at least one main clause.
Since all sentences must have a subject, a verb and a complete thought, all sentences must have at least one main clause in them.

3. Subordinate Clause: a group of words that has a subject and a verb, but no complete thought. It is like a main clause, but it has a signal in front of it.

Not all sentences have a subordinate clause.
Since all sentences must have a subject, a verb and a complete thought, a subordinate clause cannot be a cannot be sentence by itself.

Here are some examples.

PHRASE

*EXAMPLE*	*EXPLANATION*
Last Saturday night, . . .	It does not have a verb. Therefore, it cannot have a subject. It does not express a complete thought (a complete message).
A long way down the road, . . .	As above.
Yesterday in English class, . . .	As above.

MAIN CLAUSE

*EXAMPLE*	*EXPLANATION*
John runs fast.	It has a subject (John), a verb (runs), and it expresses a complete thought (a complete message).
Arthur has bad hair.	It has a subject (Arthur), a verb (has), and it expresses a complete thought (a complete message).
Marcel dates a member of the Ottawa Senators.	It has a subject (Marcel), a verb (dates), and it expresses a complete thought (a complete message).

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

*EXAMPLE*	*EXPLANATION*
Although John runs fast, . . .	It has a subject (John) and a verb (runs), but it does not express a complete thought
Because Arthur has bad hair, . . .	It has a subject (Arthur) and a verb (has), but it does not express a complete thought.
Since Marcel dates a member of the Ottawa Senators, . . .	It has a subject (Marcel) and a verb (dates), but it does not express a complete thought.

Notice that main clauses and subordinate clauses resemble each other!