Do you know the difference between clauses and phrases? These are commonly confused parts of speech.
Both clauses and phrases are groups of words. But a CLAUSE contains BOTH a subject and a predicate.
Here are some examples of clauses:
I swim. We are happy. We are going to the store.
These are all INDEPENDENT clauses - they can stand on their own as sentences.
Did you remember to check for a subject and a predicate?
There they are.
Now, let’s look at some examples of DEPENDENT clauses, also known as SUBORDINATE clauses.
Even though these also contain a subject and a verb, they can’t stand on their own -
they require another part of the sentence to make sense.
I'll put the dependent clauses in CAPITAL letters so they’ll stand out:
I swim BECAUSE IT MAKES ME RELAXED.
We are happy WHEN WE GO TO THE BEACH.
We are going to the store SO WE CAN BUY GROCERIES.
As you can see in these examples, the dependent clause DEPENDS ON an independent clause.
Notice again, that these dependent clauses contain both a subject and a predicate.
There are three main types of dependent clauses:
The Adjective Clause, the Adverb Clause, and the Noun Clause.
First, the ADJECTIVE CLAUSE, which is a dependent clause that acts as an adjective.
Remember adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. For example, in the sentence
The mysterious envelope arrived on Tuesday. Mysterious modifies the noun “envelope.”
We could replace the single word mysterious with a group of words, an adjective clause.
For example: The envelope that looked mysterious arrived on Tuesday.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
So an ADVERB CLAUSE is a dependent clause that can modify verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.
For example, The envelope arrived late. Late is the adverb.
The envelope arrived after we had dinner. “After we had dinner,” is the adverb clause.
Finally, let’s look at NOUN CLAUSES.
Noun clauses are dependent clauses that act as...NOUNS!
A Noun clause can take the place of a noun - but remember, nouns can do lots of things.
A noun can be the subject of a sentence, or... a direct object,...or ...an indirect object...or ...the object of a preposition...
let’s see some examples.
HE is brilliant. Whoever thought of sea salt caramels is brilliant.
Pick out a gift for ME. Pick out a gift for whomever you wish.
Now that we’ve seen every kind of CLAUSE under the sun, we’ll turn to phrases.
PHRASES are groups of words that are NOT complete sentences. They cannot stand on their own.
That sounds an awful lot like dependent clauses.
So how can you tell the difference between a phrase and a dependent clause?
Phrases DON’T contain both a subject and predicate. One is missing - usually the predicate.
Phrases also come in many different types - noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adjectival phrases, verb phrases...
Here are some examples:
Blue water - noun phrase
in the closet - prepositional phrase
quite messy - adjectival phrase
Am speaking (as in “I am speaking now”) - verb phrase
Now let’s play a game to make sure you REALLY understand the difference between these parts of speech.
I’ll read a sentence, and we’ll highlight part of it.
You decide whether it’s an independent clause, a dependent clause, or a phrase.
READY? Let’s go!
“Before we go on vacation, we have to finish all of our work.”
What part of speech is “We have to finish all of our work?”
An independent clause.
It has both a subject and a predicate, and it can stand on its own.
What about the first part of the sentence - “Before we go on vacation?”
Dependent clause.
It has both a subject and a verb, but it CAN'T stand on its own.
Before we go on vacation is NOT a sentence.
How about this one:
“The author, who is known to be rather eccentric, arrived at the bookstore at midnight.”
What part of this sentence is the independent clause?
Find the part that can stand on its own.
“The author arrived at the bookstore at midnight.”
What about the rest of the sentence: “who is known to be rather eccentric?”
That’s a dependent clause.
Notice it has both a subject and a predicate, but it’s NOT a sentence on its own.
Can we pick out some PHRASES from these examples?
See how many you can find, and write them below in the comments!
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