Phrases vs Clauses
A2 · ElementarySentence Structure & Clausesin the garden vs she walked in the garden. A phrase is a group of words with no subject and verb of its own; a clause has both.
What you'll learn
- A phrase is a group of words that works together but has no subject + verb combination of its own
- A clause is a group of words that DOES have a subject and a verb
- Phrases can be built around a noun, a verb, an adjective, or a preposition
- Every sentence contains at least one clause — a phrase alone is never a complete sentence
The one test that matters
To tell a phrase from a clause, ask one question: does this group of words have its own subject and verb? If yes, it's a clause. If no, it's a phrase — no matter how long or how many words it has.
Phrases come in several kinds
A phrase can be built around any part of speech — a noun phrase (a very old house), a prepositional phrase (after the concert), or a verb phrase without its own subject (running quickly down the street).
A clause has a subject and a verb
As soon as a group of words has a subject doing a verb, it's a clause — even a short one. This lesson only introduces the concept; independent vs. dependent clauses, and how they combine, are covered in Clauses.
Real English
Watch out
A group of words needs its own subject and verb to count as a clause — 'in the garden' has neither.
Length isn't the test — 'a very old house on the corner of a quiet street' is still just a (long) phrase without a subject + verb.
A phrase alone isn't a complete sentence — it needs at least one clause to attach to.
Real life — Describing a walk
"We walked under the bridge and near the station."
"Sounds nice. Did anything interesting happen?"
"The dog barked loudly when the bell rang."
"Ha, I bet that startled you."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'in the garden' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 2 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'she walked in the garden' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 3 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'a very old house' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 4 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'because it was raining' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct answer
What makes a group of words a clause rather than a phrase?
Exercise 6 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'running quickly down the street' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 7 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'the weather is nice today' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 8 · Identify: phrase or clause?
'after the concert' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
Exercise 9 · Turn the phrase into a clause
Add a subject and a verb to turn this phrase into a clause: 'in the morning'
Exercise 10 · Identify: phrase or clause?
Identify: 'on the table' — phrase or clause?
Exercise 11 · Sort into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
'by the river' — Is this a phrase or a clause?
You learned
- A phrase is a group of words with no subject + verb combination of its own.
- A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.
- Phrases can be built around a noun, a verb, an adjective, or a preposition.
- Every sentence contains at least one clause.
Related grammar lessons
Exclamations
Learn the two exclamation patterns — 'What a/an + noun!' and 'How + adjective/adverb!' — for expressing strong feeling.
Sentence Types
Learn the four sentence types by purpose — declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory — and how each is marked in writing.
Clauses
Learn independent vs. dependent clauses, and how combining them builds simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
There Is & There Are
Learn 'there is/are' — the construction English uses to introduce that something exists, with 'there' as an empty placeholder subject.