Get Your Clause Out of My Phrase

What's the difference between a clause and a phrase? My teacher says it's important to know this stuff, but I don't see why.

It helps to know the difference between a clause and a phrase so that you can avoid incomplete sentences in your writing. There's nothing wrong with peppering your speech with phrases; we do it all the time. But, if you fill your writing with phrases instead of clauses and sentences, your reader will tremble with confusion.

CLAUSES:

Causes have both a subject and a predicate. In other words, an agent (a person or thing) does something. There are many types of clauses—adjective, noun, adverb, elliptical, prepositional—but they're usually categorized as either independent or subordinate (dependent). An independent clause can stand on its own. In other words, it's a simple sentence. (Mnemonic: Santa Claus wears a Suit and brings Presents)

Independent Clause: I ate the entire box of candy.

Two independent clauses make a compound sentence: I ate the entire box of candy, and I got sick.

Subordinate Clause: A subordinate clause also has a subject and a predicate, BUT can't live alone; it lives in the shadow of an independent clause.

I ate the entire box of candy and got sick.

PHRASES:

A phrase is a group of words that make sense together (to the store, for me, running the mile), but do NOT have a subject or predicate.

There are different types of phrases: prepositional, adjectival, adverbial, participial (these don't contain predicates; they contain verbals).

More on prepositional phrases & participial phrases another time. (NB: Now that's a phrase. Had it been a sentence, I would have written: "We [subject] will explore [predicate] prepositional and participial phrases another time.")

Hoping this helps (yikes, another phrase)