📝 Difference of Clause and Phrase
📃 A phrase is a group of words which does not contain a finite verb.
📃 A clause is a group of words that contains a finite verb.
He gave me a gold chain.
phrase
He gave me a chain which was made of gold. Clause
🔶 Note : Modern English grammar, however, has widened this view. It is now possible to talk of clauses with finite &
non-finite verbs and verbless clauses.
However, a clause is a shorter sentence
within a bigger sentence.
◻️(a) I can not tell when he will come. (clause with a finite verb)
◻️(b) Wounded in the war, he returned home. (clause with a non finite) (= when he was wounded in the war)
◻️(c) While walking in the field, I saw a cow. (clause with a non-finite)
(= While I was walking in the field)
◻️(d) When in England, he saw a strange sight. (verbless clause)
(= When he was in England)
☑️ So we should say:
A clause is a group of words that contain a finite verb expressed or understood. But a phrase does not contain a finite verb in any way.
-- P.C Das .
Clauses are of three kinds-
(1) Principal clause
(2) Subordinate clause
(3) Co-ordinate clause
Then Subordinate clauses are subdivided into 3 heads:
(1) Noun or Nominal Clause.
(2) Adjective or Relative Clause
(3) Adverbial Clause
