Phrases & Clauses

Make your sentences shine!

Phrase Made up of several words Usually acts as a single word Lacks subject-predicate combination Can’t do much of anything alone Absolutely fabulous at embellishing,

showing relationships, and offering many different ways to arrange the rest of the sentence

Examples of Phrases…

The sandman, in cahoots with the vampire, lays the subject to rest.

He was determined to dazzle her. Sylvie loves to split infinitives.

Phrases….

Add rhythm Being able to see a group of words as a

phrase helps you… In writing Editing Sorting out questions about agreements Setting to rights dangling and misplaced

modifiers

Clauses

Contain a subject and a predicate Can stand alone sometimes

(independent) Or work in concert with another

(dependent)

Independent clauses… Makes sense by itself Is a sentence in its own right

Example He lifted her comatose toe in his palm, and

he pronounced her over the scourge.

Dependent Clauses…

Needs the rest of the sentence for the full impact of its meaning to be felt.

Yes it has a subject and a verb, but lacks the strength to complete the thought without help.

Example…

If this is love, I’ve made a terrible mistake.

The beard, which sits awkwardly upon his face, looks like a toupee for the temporomandibular joint.