SENTENCE CLAUSES.

What is a clause in a sentence?

A clause is a group of words with a (s) subject and a (v) verb.

For example:

-(s) phones, (which is a subject) (v) are (which is a verb) important.

The above is just one sentence with one clause.

There are times when two clauses are used in a sentence. i.e. two groups of words with a subject and a verb:

-Phones are important, but they are dangerous too.

The above is an example of one sentence with two clauses.

Some times one needs to develop a sentence with three clauses.

-Phones are important, but they can be dangerous too, so we must try to avoid them.

The above is an example of one sentence with three clauses.

A sentence can have four clauses too.

-Phones are important, but they can be dangerous too, so we must try to avoid them or use them sparingly.

The above is one sentence with four clauses.

This means that a sentence is not the same as a clause. A sentence is the group of words that comes with a full-stop at the end, and must be a complete thought that makes sense. So sentence clauses are units of words that build a sentence, thus one sentence can have a number of clauses. Note that a clause makes meaning on its own though at times in relation with other clauses.

A PHRASE.

A Phrase.

It's important to know the difference between phrases and clauses. A phrase is a group of two or more words functioning as a meaningful unit within a sentence or clause. It is characterized as a grammatical unit between a word and a clause.

Phrases have a head (or headword)—which determines the grammatical nature of the unit—and one or more optional modifiers. Sometimes phrases can have other phrases within them.

There are different types of phrases:

Noun phrases

A Noun phrase is a group of words performing the task of a noun. The types of Noun phrase include: (a good boy).

Examples of noun phrases:

Appositive Phrase

Infinitive Phrase

Gerund Phrase

1. Appositive Phrase:

An appositive phrase does not technically modify another noun, just renames that.

Examples of Appositive Phrase:

1.    Denzel Washington, my favorite actor, is a father of three sons.

2.    Lua Lua, the famous pianist, is the chief pianist of the coronation.

3.    Wole Soyinka, the world novelist, lived in Islington London.

 2. Infinitive Phrase:

An infinitive phrase contains an infinitive at the beginning.

Examples of Infinitive Phrase:

1.    I love to sing songs.

2.    To walk more is good for health.

3.    To speak the truth is a virtue.

 3. Gerund Phrase:

A gerund phrase contains a gerund at the beginning.

Examples of Gerund Phrase:

1.    Walking more is good for health.

2.    Telling the truth is good.

Verb phrases:

Verb Phrase structure:

Verbs in the past or present tense do not rely on verb phrases. Simple sentences in the present (“He sings.”) or past tense (“They sung.”) only need a subject and verb. Sentences in other tenses or that are more dynamic need a verb phrase featuring different parts of speech or elements, including:

1.    Adverbs:

These modify verbs and, when paired with them, create a verb phrase. The use of “sings” and “beautifully” creates a verb phrase in the sentence, “The girl sings beautifully.”

2. Prepositional phrases:

These further qualify the action of a verb, as in “The scared couple hiked the trail in the dark and through the snow.” In this sentence, two prepositional phrases, “in the dark” and “through the snow,” modify the single verb (“hiked”) that belongs to the noun phrase (“the scared couple”).

2.    Helping verbs:

This structure is often dependent on auxiliary verbs. These helping verbs take on different forms of “to have” (“She has eaten.”), “to be” (“They are waiting.”), and “to do” (“She does think flamingos are pretty.”).

3.    Modal verbs:

These dictate conditionality. Words like “ought,” “should,” and “may” are examples of modal auxiliary verbs, as in the sentence “My grandmother ought to take her medicine.”

Examples of Verb Phrases

1. “She has studied here for two years.” The present perfect tense, and the word “has” functioning as the helping verb to the main verb “studied.” A helping verb precedes the main verb. In questions, helping verbs may come before and after the subject, as in, “How long has he lived in New York?”

2. “I might help you tomorrow.” The use of “might help” here exemplifies a modal verb phrase, where “might” shows possibility.

3. “We will go to China to study Chinese.” Verbs outside of the past or present tense, as in this sentence’s use of future tense, require an auxiliary verb like “will” to describe future action.

Adjective Phrases.

 An Adjective Phrase conducts the task of the adjective. (drives carelessly).

Examples of adjective clauses.

1.    Our teachers is so short-tempered that he cannot tolerate stubborn students.

2.    Beijing winters are really cold and everyone shivers.

3.    We could not travel in that ugly weather?

Adverb phrases:

A verb phrase is a group of words, including the main verb and any other linking verbs or modifiers, that act as a sentence's verb. Modifiers can change, adapt, limit, expand upon, or help define a certain word in a sentence.

An Adverbial Phrase:

An adverbial phrase is a group of words performing the task of an adverb. (quite loudly)

Examples of Adverbial Phrase

1.    The visitors came here yesterday.

2.    Mary was running so quickly.

3.    Jeff was speaking so roughly.

Prepositional phrases:

A prepositional phrase contains a preposition at the beginning and conducts the function of an adjective, adverb or noun. (in first place).

Examples of Prepositional Phrase

1.    The people with whom I met at the program were friendly.

2.    The salesperson sells from door to door.

3.    We are on the way to California.

A phrase on its own obviously cannot be a sentence because every sentence has a subject and a verb, and must make complete meaning.

For all IELTS test takers, it is important to learn to build sentences and the first thing is understanding what makes a good sentence.