Clauses

A clause is a group of words that hangs together and has a subject and a verb (although the subject can be an "understood"one.) That's a pretty vague definition, I realize.Some examples of clauses follow:

· I love you

· When I love you

· If I love you

· Since I love you

· Tell me(This one has an "understood"subject you.)

For the sake of convenience, we divide clauses into two big types:Independent and Dependent.

An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence.For example, "Since I love you" cannot really stand alone as a sentence.

A phrase is a group of words that hangs together but lacks a verb.For example, the prepositional phrase "in the beginning" lacks a verb.

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The terms "clause" and "phrase" and "phras are useful in understanding how sentences are put together.The exercise on distinguishing independent clauses from dependent clauses may make the idea of a clause clearer.