Phrases, Independent Clauses, and Dependent Clauses

Adapted from My Dog Bites the English Teacher, by Marian Anders

First, we learned how to find the subject of a sentence and the verb.

Finding Verbs Review:The Time Change Method

Change the time of the sentence by saying yesterday, every day, and tomorrow at the beginning of the sentence. When you change the time of the sentence, the verb will change automatically.Listen for the word or words that change when you change the time. The word is the verb.

Find the verb in this sentence:Steve ate the pizza.

Yesterday Steve ATE a pizza. (past)Every day Steve EATS a pizza. (present)Tomorrow Steve WILL EAT a pizza. (future)

The verb in the sentence is:ate

Finding Verbs Review:The Time Change Method

Finding Verbs withThe Time Change Method

When you change the time to find the verb, use all three time words—yesterday, today, and tomorrow; the verb will change with two of them.

Finding Subjects ReviewWhen you analyze a sentence, always find the verb first. Then you can find

the subject by asking yourself, “Who or what performed the verb?”

Example:Janisa baked a peach pie.

Tomorrow Janisa WILL BAKE a peach pie.Every day Janisa BAKES a peach pie.

The verb is baked.

Now, to find the subject, ask yourself, “Who or what baked a peach pie?”

The answer, of course, is Janisa.

Were you tempted to choose pie as the subject?Ask yourself, “Did the pie bake anything?”No, Janisa baked it, so the subject is Janisa.

Next, we will learn two essential grammar facts:

The difference between a clause and a phraseThe difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause

Phrases, dependent clauses, and independent clauses are the building blocks that we use to make sentences. When you understand the difference between them, you will have the foundation for everything that comes next.

Clauses and Phrases

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.

CLAUSE = SUBJECT + VERB

A phrase is a group of words that doesn’t have a subject and a verb.

PHRASE SUBJECT & VERB

We put clauses and phrases together to make sentences of different lengths. A very short sentence has just one clause. A complicated sentence could have several clauses and several phrases.

To determine whether a group of words is a clause or a phrase, just look for a verb and a subject:

The world’s smallest dog is a Chihuahua

Remember, look for a verb by changing the time of the sentence:

Yesterday The world’s smallest dog WAS a ChihuahuaTomorrow The world’s smallest dog WILL BE a Chihuahua

Now look for a subject.

The world’s smallest dog is a Chihuahua

Ask yourself, “Who or what is a Chihuahua?”Which word would you choose?

Dog.

Underline the subject:

The world’s smallest dog is a Chihuahua

This group of words is a clause because it hasa subject and a verb.

Now try this one:Lives in Wisconsin

Look for a verb by changing the time:Yesterday LIVED in Wisconsin.Tomorrow WILL LIVE in Wisconsin.

Highlight the verb:Lives in Wisconsin

Now look for a subject.

“Who or what lives in Wisconsin?”

It doesn’t say.

This group of words doesn’t have a subject, so it is not a clause; it’s a phrase.

Here’s one more example:

Only four inches tall at the shoulders

Look for a verb by changing the time:

Yesterday Only four inches tall at the shouldersEvery day Only four inches tall at the shouldersTomorrow Only four inches tall at the shoulders

Nothing changed. This group of words does not have a verb. It’s a phrase.

We don’t need to bother looking for a subject. A clause needs a subject and a verb. If a group of words doesn’t have a verb, it must be a phrase.

Now it’s time to practice finding PHRASES AND

CLAUSES!

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES• Any group of words that doesn’t have a subject and a verb is a phrase.

•Traditional grammar has names for different kinds of phrases, but for correct writing and punctuation, a phrase is a phrase, and that’s all that matters right now.

•However, it is useful to know prepositional phrases.

A preposition links nouns, adjectives, and phrases to other words in a sentence. Essentially, a preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence.

To find a preposition, try this strategy: A preposition is aword that tells what a catcan do with a chair.

A cat can be in the chairunder the chairbeside the chairnear the chairby the chairwith the chair

A cat can jump over the chairon the chairinto the chairoff the chairfrom the chair

A cat can run around the chairto the chairthrough the legs of the chair

Monkey Bar Kitty

A cat can be so still that it looks like part of the chair

Camo Kitty

Other prepositions include about, along, at, beyond, beneath, between, for, like and more.

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that starts with a preposition and then has a couple more words to complete the idea.

•The subject or verb of a sentence will almost never be inside a prepositional phrase. •So if you have a long sentence, you could first put parentheses around all the prepositional phrases. •Then just look at the words left over to find the subject and verb.

The cat ran around the chair and jumpedinto my lap.

The cat ran (around the chair) and jumped(into my lap).

The mouse peeked out of his hole, darted across the floor, and disappeared under the couch.

The mouse peeked (out of his hole), darted (across the floor), and disappeared (under the couch). The man sat on the grass under a shady tree in Central Park on a beautiful day in mid-July listening to his Ipod.

The man sat (on the grass) (under a shady tree) (in Central Park) (on a beautiful day) (in mid-July) listening (to his Ipod). •The subject or verb of a sentence will almost never be inside a

prepositional phrase. •So if you have a long sentence, you could first put parentheses around all the prepositional phrases. •Then just look at the words left over to find the subject and verb.

The mouse peeked out of his hole, darted across the floor, and disappeared under the couch.

The mouse peeked (out of his hole), darted (across the floor), and disappeared (under the couch). The man sat on the grass under a shady tree in Central Park on a beautiful day in mid-July listening to his Ipod.

The man sat (on the grass) (under a shady tree) (in Central Park) (on a beautiful day) (in mid-July) listening (to his Ipod).

•The subject or verb of a sentence will almost never be inside a prepositional phrase. •So if you have a long sentence, you could first put parentheses around all the prepositional phrases. •Then just look at the words left over to find the subject and verb.

LET’S PRACTICE IDENTIFYING PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES.