Word, phrase,
clause,
sentence
Arifah Tenny Romdhati., S.Pd. M.Li
Introduction
Word The smallest meaningful unit of speech.
Group of words that do not contain subject and predicate. It cannot
Phrase convey a complete thought and also cannot stand alone.
Clause Group of words that contain subject and predicate. It conveys a
complete thought and also can stand alone.
A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and
Sentence states a complete idea, beginning with a capital letter and ends
in punctuation mark.
Word
The smallest meaningful unit of speech.
A single word shows its function in meaning within a sentence called
part of speech.
INTERJECTION NOUN
PREPOSITION Part of PRONOUN
Speech
CONJUNCTION ADJECTIVE
ADVERB VERB
Phrase
A phrase is a group of related words that does not have subjects and
predicates.
The words in a phrase act together so that the phrase itself functions
as a single part of speech.
Types of phrase
Noun phrase A phrase with a noun as the headword
Ex: beautiful girl, special gift, blue house
A phrase with a verb as the headword, usually consists of auxiliary and verb
Verb phrase Ex: is sleeping, does not study, go fishing, could help, have lived, wanted to
participate, was called, will be attending etc.
Adjective phrase A phrase with an adjective as the the headword
Ex: extremely handsome, really expensive, very cloudy, etc.
Adverb phrase A phrase with an adverb as the headword
Ex: very quickly, so well
Prepositional a phrase with a preposition as the headword (on the table, beyond
phrase comprehension, near the village, to the cinema etc.)
Types of phrase
Noun phrase My father bought a new red car.
She was reading a novel.
Verb phrase
Adjective phrase He was extremely happy.
Adverb phrase Mu mother drives the car very slowly.
Prepositional The dog was hiding under the kitchen table.
phrase
Clause
Group of words that contain subject and predicate. It conveys a
complete thought and also can stand alone.
Clause
Subject + Predicate
Noun Verb
Pronoun
Noun phrase
Gerund
To infinitive
Noun clause
Types of clause
Independent clause An independent clause can stand by itself and be a complete
Simple sentence sentence.
I love you.
Indonesia has more than 17 thousand islands.
I am beautiful.
Dependent clause A dependent clause can't make a complete sentence by itself. It
begins with a connector and need another clause to complete its
meaning.
Because it was already dark, we decided to camp there.
Types of clause
Dependent clause
Noun clause What I want for dinner is a hamburger.
Acts as noun
Adjective clause A special gift which is given by my Ex makes my girlfriend jealous.
Acts as adjective
The group of tourists decided to have lunch in the village because the van
Adverb clause needed repairs.
Acts as adverb
Types of phrase
Compare these examples:
The building in front of the town square near the public school Phrase
The building is square. Clause
The man who is standing in the middle of the hall with a black briefcase on his right
hand Phrase
The man stood up. Clause
Exercises
Exercise
In the spaces to the left of each number write P for phrase, IC for independent clause, and DC for dependent
clause.
1. (___)Thousands of people walk every day 1. (___) A few where left
2. (___) While debris covered the park 2. (___) No one lives there
3. (___) With broken glass in the alley 3. (___) Reading helps you
4. (___) Beside old trucks and cars 4. (___) Under extreme pressure
5. (___) Many girls were walking 5. (___) Jumping is exhausting
6. (___) To run quickly 6. (___) Because they went
7. (___) Traveling at a fast pace 7. (___) To act responsibly
8. (___) Racing against the traffic light 8. (___) That she was going
9. (___) Before he left 9. (___) Race to the sea
10. (___) On the floor 10. (___) Except Mary and Tom
11. (___) No one cared 11. (___) When I heard
12. (___) Living by herself 12. (___) He speaks clearly
Exercises
Exercise
Which of the following groups of words are phrases? Which are clauses? Label each one.
1. thinking about how to make a million dollars
2. he stayed up all night, thinking about to make a million dollars
3. cell phone screens are getting bigger
4. my girlfriend loves me
5. the girl who loves me
6. bone-crunching and neck-snapping
7. a taste that I share with many others
8. the desk near the window
9. he has a favourite place to study, the desk near the window
10. she was waiting by the café
11. her friend standing in the corner of the street
12. the book that I bought yesterday
Sentence
A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb
and states a complete idea, beginning with a capital letter and
ends in punctuation mark.
Types of clause
Simple sentence It has one independent clause (1S +1P)
Red is my favourite colour.
We are college students.
Compound sentence It has two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction (FANBOYS)
You can use my car, or you may stay here until tomorrow.
Teenagers are curious at new things, so they are at high risk
of drug abuse.
Complex sentence It consists of an independent clause and a dependent clause (subordinate).
Subordinate clause may be adverb clauses, noun clauses, or adjective
clauses.
Although he came from a poor family, he never gave up
achieving his dream.
Exercises
Exercise
Underline the dependent clauses and circle the connectors that introduce the dependent clauses.
1. I could make good grades if I studied.
2. He was searching for the money that he had dropped in the snow on Christmas Day.
3. He took his car although he really preferred his motorcycle.
4. I have always hoped that I could someday go to the Super Bowl.
5. If you are too busy for a vacation, at least get some exercise.
6. The men who moved the box were careless.
7. A sentence which contains a subordinate clause is a complex sentence.
8. When you respect others, you win respect for yourself.
9. As it became dark, we looked at the stars through our telescope.
10. While she is away, someone will take her place.
