Clauses and Phrases

What is Clauses and Phrases?

Within English, which covers grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, poetry, drama and the skills for clear communication, this topic explains Clauses and Phrases. English topics help you read closely and write with purpose, so each one here explains a skill and shows how it works in a model text.

Check that you can explain Clauses and Phrases in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Clauses and Phrases helps you read texts more closely and write with more control, which earns marks in both reading and writing papers.

Clauses and Phrases in detail

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. An independent (main) clause can stand alone as a sentence, while a subordinate (dependent) clause cannot, as in "although it was late". A phrase is a group of words without a subject and verb together, such as "in the garden" or "running quickly".

Relative clauses add detail to nouns, using who, which or that, and adverbial clauses tell when, where or why. Commas often separate subordinate clauses from main ones. Understanding clauses and phrases is key to building sentences, punctuating them and avoiding fragments.

How the interactive helps you understand Clauses and Phrases

Click a step, or use the Previous and Next buttons, to move through the sequence one stage at a time. Auto-play moves on for you.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Clauses and Phrases.

Real-life uses and examples

• Plan an essay paragraph by linking the technique to the reader’s response.
• Spot Clauses and Phrases when you read a poem, story or speech, then explain the effect it creates.
• Use Clauses and Phrases to make your own writing more precise and vivid.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Quoting a long passage instead of picking a short, precise phrase.
• Naming a technique without explaining its effect on the reader.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.