Phrase & Clause | English Grammar |





Phrase & Clause are also a part of English Grammar. These are the part of a sentence, Clause gives the sentence a meaning.A Phrase is a part of the sentence and does not give complete sense.Examples:1. The sun sets2. He sat3. I like4. I don't know5. He took lunch6. He tried7. He slept8.is human.9. I salute10. We wantThe group of words ingiven above are Phrases.A clause has a subject and a predicate and makes complete sense.There are three kinds of Clauses :- The clause which is not dependent on other clause for its meaning is called Principal Clause. It is also called Independent Clause, e.g:1) They rested when evening came.2) He is the boy who stole my pen.In above sentences, 'They rested' and 'He is the boy' are Principal Clauses because they give complete meaning.- This Clause is called an Independent Clause because it is not dependent on other clause. Two simple sentences are combined with each other with one Co-ordinate Conjunction,e.g:1) He is rich but he is miser.2) Go away or Come in.In sentence 1, 'He is rich' and 'he is miser' are two independent clauses which are joined by Co-ordinate Conjunction. The clause which starts with Co-ordinate Conjunction is called Co-ordinate Clause.- This clause does not have complete meaning in itself. It depends on Principal Clause to clear its meaning, e.g:1) He told me a story which was interesting.2) We must help those who are poor.In sentence 1, 'which was interesting' is not able to give its complete meaning, it depends on Principal Clause - 'He told me a story' for its meaning. Therefore 'which was interesting' is Subordinate Clause. Subordinate Clause is further divided into three clauses - Noun Clause, Adjective Clause and Adverb Clause that will be discussed in different topic.Examples:1. Tell me2. I don't know3. Ram told me4. I can't go5. I think6. I believe7. I am sure8. They believed9. He is sure10. No one doubtsIn the above sentences, the group of words inare Clauses.