Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences

Introduction

A sentence is a collection of related words. The description of the parts that make up a sentence and the rules used to correctly combine words together to make a sentence form the grammar of a language. In this post we'll go over the definitions of some common English grammar terms related to sentences.

Subject and Predicate

The subject and predicate are the two parts of a sentence.

Complete Subject

The complete subject consists of all the words that tell who or what the sentence is about. In the following sentence the complete subject is in bold.

The white cat will run away.

Simple Subject

The simple subject is the key noun in the sentence. In the following sentence the simple subject is in bold.

The white cat will run away.

Complete Predicate

The complete predicate is all the words that tell what the subject is or does. In the following example the complete predicate is in bold.

The white cat will run away.

Simple Predicate

A simple predicate is the key verb phrase in a sentence. In the following sentence, the simple predicate is in bold.

The white cat will run away.

Clause

A clause is a building block of a sentence. It is a related group of words with at least one noun and one verb. A sentence may consist of one clause, or have two or more clauses. Although a clause can be an entire sentence, not all clauses are entire sentences.

Independent Clause

An independent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb. It can be used as a complete sentence. Two independent clauses can be joined into one sentence by using a conjunction such as and, or, not, or but. In this case a comma is required after the first independent clause.

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause is a clause that does not express a complete thought. Since it does not express a complete thought, it is not a complete sentence. To make a complete sentence, a dependent clause needs to be combined with an independent clause to make a sentence.

Adjective Clause

An adjective clause is a dependent clause that describes a noun or pronoun. It usually begins with a relative pronoun, such as that, which, who, whose, and whom.

Adverb Clause

An adverb clause is a dependent clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Phrase

In everyday speech, a phrase is a group of words that has a special meaning or is very common in the spoken language. It may or may not be a complete sentence.

As a grammatical term, a phrase is a group of words missing either a noun or a verb.

Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with an object. It may include adjectives that describe the object. Prepositional phrases end with a comma when they start a sentence. The preopositional phrases are shown in bold in the following sentence.

In the morning, Sarah from work, walked along the river.

Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is a phrase that contains a verb and any helper verbs. Some examples of verb phrases are: has given, will give, did give, want to give.

A verb phrase is sometimes more broadly defined as consisting of a verb, helper verbs, adverbs related to the verb, and the verb's object. For example: has not given her.

Appositive Phrase

An appositive phrase renames, explains, or defines a noun or a pronoun. It goes right after the noun or pronoun it renames. An appositive phrase should be set off by commas. The appositive phrase is in bold in the following example.

Sarah Underwood, the project manager, will inform us of the progress made this week.

Sentences

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. In English, sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses. It may also contain phrases.

Examples:

• I walk.
• I walked into the house.
• They were running along the street.

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

Examples:

• The sun was shining, so everyone was happy.
• I walked into the house; it was a mess.
• I opened the door; however, it was the wrong house.
• They were running along the street, even though there was a lot of traffic.

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one dependent clause.

In the following examples, the independent clauses are in bold and the dependent clause is underlined.

• I left when the guests arrived.

Compound and Complex

A compond and complex sentence has two independent clauses, and at least one dependent clause.

In the following examples, the independent clauses are in bold and the dependent clause is underlined.

• I went to school, but Ashley stayed home because she was sick.
• Here is the money that I owe you, and I am happy to be able to pay you.