Phrases and Clauses

Understand the difference between phrases and clauses and see how they work together.

The Short Story

Phrase: A word or group of words that can have a subject or a predicate but not both.

Clause: A group of words with both a subject and a predicate.

---

The Novel

If you’re a writer or editor or really anyone who speaks or is interested in English, you’ll want to know the difference between phrases and clauses. These elements are what make up the English language, whether speaking, reading, or writing.

The more you understand the difference between phrases and clauses, the more you’ll be able to use them to your advantage. You’ll master grammar and punctuation rules and craft perfectly curated sentences. Your understanding of English will be much stronger for it!

So what is the difference? To start off, you’ll need to know what a subject and a predicate are. A subject is the person, place, or thing (i.e. the noun) performing the action in a sentence. Subjects are italicized in the following sentences:

Did Daisy really eat all the nachos?

France looks just like a dream.

The bright moon glistens on the lake.

Yesterday, that odd man with the hat got fried at the beach.

My youngest sister, Genevieve, competes in triathlons.

Now that you have a grasp of the subject, we can move on to the other part of a sentence, the predicate. A predicate explains what the subject does, and it always contains a verb. Let’s talk about verbs a bit before we dive into predicates.

Verbs are the action that the performer, or subject, is doing. Verbs are italicized in the following sentences:

Did Daisy really eat all the nachos?

France looks just like a dream.

The bright moon glistens on the lake.

Yesterday, that odd man with the hat got fried at the beach.

My youngest sister, Genevieve, competes in triathlons.

The verb and any other words that describe or add meaning to the verb are the predicate. Basically, the predicate is everything but the subject. The predicates are italicized in the following sentences:

Did Daisy really eat all the nachos?

France looks just like a dream.

The bright moon glistens on the lake.

Yesterday, that odd man with the hat got fried at the beach.

My youngest sister, Genevieve, competes in triathlons.

Not too complicated, right? Now, keep these definitions in mind as we jump into phrases and clauses.

---

Phrases

A phrase is a word or group of words that can have a subject or a predicate but not both. A phrase can never stand on its own as a full sentence. Here are some examples:

the black, fluffy dog

speeding past the minivan

jumbled up the puzzle pieces

at the end of the rainbow

incredibly cranky

haven’t thought much about it

Notice that some phrases have both verbs and nouns. But in those specific examples, the nouns are not the subjects of the sentence. 

For example, “jumbled up the puzzle pieces” has the noun “puzzle pieces.” But the puzzle pieces are the object of the sentence, not the subject. Similarly, “the minivan” isn’t the subject of a sentence because it is not performing an action.

The important thing to remember is that phrases never have both a subject and a predicate.

---

Clauses

A clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a predicate. 

Zoey looked at the black, fluffy dog

the driver evaded the police

the toddler unhelpfully jumbled up the puzzle pieces

after it rained yesterday

I feel incredibly cranky

if Tyson has a moment

Notice that phrases are in clauses, but clauses can’t be in phrases. Looking at the examples further, we see that some clauses can be standalone sentences. And all clauses can make up part of a complex sentence. Here are some examples:

Zoey looked at the black, fluffy dog as it ran.

Speeding past the minivan, the driver evaded the police.

At the end of the rainbow, you can find a pot of gold.

I feel incredibly cranky when I don’t eat.

There are two types of clauses: dependent and independent. Independent clauses, or main clauses, are clauses that can be standalone sentences. Dependent clauses, or subordinate clauses, are clauses that can’t be standalone sentences. Dependent clauses usually start with some kind of connecting word, such as a conjunction or adverb, that links it to the main sentence.

Let’s look at an example:

When the cat stands by the tank, the fish hide.

“The fish hide” is an independent clause because it can be a standalone sentence. “When the cat stands by the tank” is a dependent clause because it can’t be a standalone sentence. 

Phrases and clauses make up the English language. And now that you know the difference between the two, you can use that knowledge to your advantage.

For example, you can understand punctuation rules better, since phrases and clauses determine where some punctuation is placed. You can also change the pacing of your writing by shifting between different kinds of clauses or phrases. And if you’re learning English, you’ll be able to mix and match phrases and clauses in no time. Knowing the difference between phrases and clauses will only improve your speech, writing, punctuation, and more.

---

The Published Examples

Some phrases are bolded:

It’s chilly as I shuffle out of the bedroom in search of coffee. The suite is still pretty dark, but Ethan is awake. He’s stretched along the full length of the sofa bed with a thick book open in front of him. He wisely leaves me alone until the caffeine has had time to work its way into my system.

All independent clauses are bolded:

It’s chilly as I shuffle out of the bedroom in search of coffee. The suite is still pretty dark, but Ethan is awake. He’s stretched along the full length of the sofa bed with a thick book open in front of him. He wisely leaves me alone until the caffeine has had time to work its way into my system.

All dependent clauses are bolded:

It’s chilly as I shuffle out of the bedroom in search of coffee. The suite is still pretty dark, but Ethan is awake. He’s stretched along the full length of the sofa bed with a thick book open in front of him. He wisely leaves me alone until the caffeine has had time to work its way into my system.

(Lauren, Christina. The Unhoneymooners. Gallery Books, 2019.)