What is the Difference Between a Phrase and a Clause?

The difference between a phrase and a clause lies in their structure and function within a sentence:

• Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that act as a unit but does not include a subject and a predicate. It cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence. Phrases may contain nouns and verbs, but they cannot function by themselves as complete sentences. For example, "ten sleepy sheep" is a phrase because it does not include a verb, which means it doesn't have a predicate.
• Clause: A clause is a group of words that act as a unit and does have both a subject and a predicate. A clause might be able to stand by itself as a complete sentence. Clauses can be either independent (can stand alone as a sentence) or dependent (cannot stand alone as a sentence). For example, "the wizard who cast a spell" is a dependent clause, while "The wizard cast a spell" is an independent clause.

In summary, a clause includes both a subject and a predicate, while a phrase is missing a subject and a predicate. If you can't find a subject or a predicate in a group of words, you are dealing with a phrase and not a clause.

Comparative Table: a Phrase vs a Clause

The main difference between a phrase and a clause lies in the presence of a subject and a verb. Here is a comparison table highlighting the differences between phrases and clauses:

In summary, phrases are groups of words that do not contain a subject and a verb, while clauses are groups of words that do contain both a subject and a verb. Phrases cannot stand alone as complete sentences, whereas clauses might be able to.