Phrases and Clauses
Phrase
Clause
Sentence
Kinds
of Clauses
Clauses
and Sentences
Paragraphs
Phrase
A phrase is a group of words working together.
Some examples of phrases are:
-
in the office -- This is a prepositional phrase. (The meeting will be in
the office.)
-
pick up -- This is a phrasal verb. (He picked up some pamphlets at
the conference.)
-
a big profit -- This is a noun phrase. (MacCorp has a big profit
this year.)
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Clause
A clause is a group of words working together with a subject
and a verb showing time (or tense).
Some examples of clauses are:
-
The budget was cut. (Independent Clause)
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The budget for advertising on the Internet was cut. (Independent
Clause)
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because the ads didn’t focus locally (Dependent or Subordinate Adverb
Clause of Reason)
-
Please book the flight connecting to Toronto. (Independent Clause
using the Imperative Mood, or Command)
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Sentence
A sentence
-
is a complete thought
-
begins with a capital letter and ends with a period
-
always has at least one main clause.
My computer crashed yesterday. (One Independent Clause -- a Simple
Sentence)
When the service man arrived, he discovered I had accidently pulled
the plug; it was very embarressing, and it cost me $80.
(This is a compound-complex sentence; its clauses, in order, are a
dependent adverb clause of time, an independent clause, a noun clause object
of the verb "discovered", and, after the semi-colon, two more independent
clauses joined by the co-ordinating conjunction "and".)
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Kinds of Clauses
The type of clause depends on its completeness and its function in the
sentence.
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The shipment arrived at 5 p.m. (Independent Clause)
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after the shipment had arrived (Dependent Adverb Clause of Time)
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The shipment arrived late, but this did not cause any problems. (Two
Independent Clauses joined by the co-ordinating conjunction "and".)
-
After the shipment had arrived, the assembly line was restarted.
(An Adverb Clause of Time and an Independent Clause)
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Clauses and Sentences
A simple sentence has only one clause. This clause, by definition,
must be an independent (or principle or main) clause.
-
The shipment arrived at 5 p.m.
A compound sentence has two independent (or more) clauses
joined by one of the “fanboys” – the co-ordinating conjunctions "for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so". A semi-colon (;) can also join two main clauses to form a compound sentence; this sentence is an example.
-
The shipment arrived late, but this did not cause any problems.
A complex sentence has at least one independent clause and
at least one dependent (or subordinate) clause.
-
After the shipment had arrived, the assembly line was restarted.
Sometimes when a complex sentence has two independent clauses as
well as one or more independent clauses, it is called a compound-complex
sentence.
-
When the service man arrived, he discovered I had accidently pulled the
plug; it was very embarressing, and it cost me $80.
An independent clause stands by itself. By itself it is a simple
sentence; in a compound sentence, there are two independent clauses joined
by one of the "FANBOYS" -- "and", "or", "but" and so on.
Notes:
A dependent clause needs an independent clause in the
same sentence for the sentence to express a complete thought. If
the dependent clause modifies a noun, it is an adjective (or relative)
clause; if the dependent clause modifies a verb, then it is an adverb
clause; if it is used like a noun in a sentence, either as a subject,
object, or object of a preposition, then the clause is a noun clause.
Any sentence which has a dependent clause with a main or principal clause
is a complex sentence. (If you analyze it, you will see that
the previous sentence is a complex sentence.) If a sentence contains
two or more independent clauses, it is a compound sentence.
If a sentence has one independent clause, then it is a simple sentence.
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Paragraphs
A paragraph is a unified group of related sentences expressing aspects
of one idea. The main idea is introduced in the topic sentence, and
the other sentences give supporting details. (In technical writing, if
all that needs to be expressed can be expressed in one sentence, this one
sentence is considered a paragraph.)
The topic sentence contains the most significant, or the broadest idea,
statement, concept, or question. All the other sentences in the paragraph
explain or support this main idea. Most often in technical writing, the
topic sentence is at the beginning of the paragraph.
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