2. Word
Phrase
Clause
Sentence
Introduction
Thesmallest meaningful unit of speech.
Group of words that do not contain subject and predicate. It cannot
convey a complete thought and also cannot stand alone.
Group of words that contain subject and predicate. It conveys a
complete thought and also can stand alone.
A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and
states a complete idea, beginning with a capital letter and ends
in punctuation mark.
5. Phrase
A phrase is a group of related words that does not have subjects and
predicates.
The words in a phrase act together so that the phrase itself functions
as a single part of speech.
6. Noun phrase
Verb phrase
A phrase with a noun as the headword
Ex: beautiful girl, special gift, blue house
A phrase with a verb as the headword, usually consists of auxiliary and verb
Ex: is sleeping, does not study, go fishing, could help, have lived, wanted to
participate, was called, will be attending etc.
Adjective phrase A phrase with an adjective as the the headword
Ex: extremely handsome, really expensive, very cloudy, etc.
Adverb phrase A phrase with an adverb as the headword
Ex: very quickly, so well
a phrase with a preposition as the headword (on the table, beyond
comprehension, near the village, to the cinema etc.)
Prepositional
phrase
Types of phrase
7. Noun phrase
Verb phrase
My father bought a new red car.
She was reading a novel.
Adjective phrase He was extremely happy.
Adverb phrase Mu mother drives the car very slowly.
The dog was hiding under the kitchen table.
Prepositional
phrase
Types of phrase
8. Clause
Group of words that contain subject and predicate. It conveys a
complete thought and also can stand alone.
10. Independent clause An independent clause can stand by itself and be a complete
sentence.
Types of clause
Simple sentence
I love you.
Indonesia has more than 17 thousand islands.
I am beautiful.
Dependent clause A dependent clause can't make a complete sentence by itself. It
begins with a connector and need another clause to complete its
meaning.
Because it was already dark, we decided to camp there.
11. Types of clause
Dependent clause
What I want for dinner is a hamburger.
A special gift which is given by my Ex makes my girlfriend jealous.
The group of tourists decided to have lunch in the village because the van
needed repairs.
Noun clause
Acts as noun
Adjective clause
Acts as adjective
Adverb clause
Acts as adverb
12. Compare these examples:
Phrase
Types of phrase
The building in front of the town square near the public school
The man who is standing in the middle of the hall with a black briefcase on his right
hand
The building is square.
The man stood up.
Clause
Phrase
Clause
13. Exercise
Exercises
In the spaces to the left of each number write P for phrase, IC for independent clause, and DC for dependent
clause.
1. (___)Thousands of people walk every day
2. (___) While debris covered the park
3. (___) With broken glass in the alley
4. (___) Beside old trucks and cars
5. (___) Many girls were walking
6. (___) To run quickly
7. (___) Traveling at a fast pace
8. (___) Racing against the traffic light
9. (___) Before he left
10. (___) On the floor
11. (___) No one cared
12. (___) Living by herself
1. (___) A few where left
2. (___) No one lives there
3. (___) Reading helps you
4. (___) Under extreme pressure
5. (___) Jumping is exhausting
6. (___) Because they went
7. (___) To act responsibly
8. (___) That she was going
9. (___) Race to the sea
10. (___) Except Mary and Tom
11. (___) When I heard
12. (___) He speaks clearly
14. Exercise
Exercises
Which of the following groups of words are phrases? Which are clauses? Label each one.
1. thinking about how to make a million dollars
2. he stayed up all night, thinking about to make a million dollars
3. cell phone screens are getting bigger
4. my girlfriend loves me
5. the girl who loves me
6. bone-crunching and neck-snapping
7. a taste that I share with many others
8. the desk near the window
9. he has a favourite place to study, the desk near the window
10. she was waiting by the café
11. her friend standing in the corner of the street
12. the book that I bought yesterday
15. Sentence
A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb
and states a complete idea, beginning with a capital letter and
ends in punctuation mark.
16. Simple sentence It has one independent clause (1S +1P)
Types of clause
Red is my favourite colour.
We are college students.
Complex sentence
Compound sentence It has two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction (FANBOYS)
You can use my car, or you may stay here until tomorrow.
Teenagers are curious at new things, so they are at high risk
of drug abuse.
It consists of an independent clause and a dependent clause (subordinate).
Subordinate clause may be adverb clauses, noun clauses, or adjective
clauses.
Although he came from a poor family, he never gave up
achieving his dream.
17. Exercise
Exercises
Underline the dependent clauses and circle the connectors that introduce the dependent clauses.
1. I could make good grades if I studied.
2. He was searching for the money that he had dropped in the snow on Christmas Day.
3. He took his car although he really preferred his motorcycle.
4. I have always hoped that I could someday go to the Super Bowl.
5. If you are too busy for a vacation, at least get some exercise.
6. The men who moved the box were careless.
7. A sentence which contains a subordinate clause is a complex sentence.
8. When you respect others, you win respect for yourself.
9. As it became dark, we looked at the stars through our telescope.
10. While she is away, someone will take her place.
