phrases/clauses Flashcards
what is a phrase?
a part of a sentence which consists of a group of words that give more information about the subject, action or event in a sentence.
A phrase cannot stand on its own and will not convey meaning if separated from the sentence
what is a noun phrase?
a word or group of words in a sentence that behaves in the same way as a noun, that is, as a subject, an object, a complement, or as the object of a preposition.
what is a verb phrase?
a group of words that acts as a verb in a sentence and usually includes a main verb and at least one auxiliary verb.
what is an adverbial phrase?
answer questions such as ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘how often’. An adverbial phrase modifies or provides extra information about a verb, a phrase, an adjective or another adverb in the sentence.
what is a prepositional phrase?
a combination of a preposition, a modifier and its object. A prepositional phrase can be placed in the beginning, middle or end of a sentence based on its role in that particular sentence. Prepositional phrases are just a part of the sentence it modifies and cannot stand alone.
what is an adjectival phrase?
functions just like an adjective in a sentence. It is a group of words that are put together in order to qualify the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject or object of a sentence.
what is a clause?
a part of a sentence that consists of a subject and a verb, unlike phrases. They can be divided into two main types depending on how they behave in a sentence. independent/dependant.
what is a main/ independent clause?
A main clause is a group of words that make up the major part of a sentence. The main clause has the ability to convey meaning and make complete sense even if taken separately from the sentence, and so, it is also referred to as the independent clause. A subject and a verb are required to form a main clause.
what is a subordinate/dependent clause?
a combination of words that includes a noun, a verb, a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun, other parts of speech and determiners. It is only a part of the sentence, mostly employed to provide more information about the rest of the sentence.
