Clauses and Phrases

Clauses and Phrases

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. A phrase is a group of words that work as a unit but do not include a subject-verb combination.

Inside her office, Maria sighed.
Clause: Maria sighed
Phrase: inside her office

Clauses are categorized as either independent or dependent. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence, while a dependent clause cannot.

After Erika told the joke, Henry laughed.
Independent clause: Henry laughed.
Dependent clause: After Erika told the joke

A sentence may include a single independent clause; two or more independent clauses; or at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (see Sentences, Types of).

One independent clause: Betty went home.
Two independent clauses: Betty went home, and Lars arrived.
One independent clause and one dependent clause: Betty went home when Lars arrived.

When an independent and a dependent clause appear in the same sentence, the independent clause communicates the sentence’s main idea. The dependent clause functions as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun.

As an adjective: Terry enjoyed the movie, which starred her favorite actor.
As an adverb: Terry watched the movie because it starred her favorite actor.
As a noun: Terry enjoyed that the movie starred her favorite actor.