PHRASES AND

CLAUSES
.
HOW ARE WORDS GROUPED TOGETHER INTO
PHRASES AND CLAUSES?

A phrase one or more words functioning as a unit in a

sentence, that contains a head word and a modifier.

A headword is the main word in a phrase.

Modifiers are words that describe the head word or give

us more information about it.
Pre-modifiers come before the headword.

Post-modifiers come after the headword.

BRIEFLY
WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN
A PHRASE AND
A CLAUSE?
EXAMPLES
OF
CLAUSES
AND
PHRASES
NOUN PHRASES

This usually has a common noun or pronoun as its head word.

Ex: the countryside the large countryside

pre-modifier head word pre-modifier head word

the large idyllic countryside

Pre-modifiers head word

Ex: The beach nearby
pre-modifier head word post-modifier

• A noun phrase is not always a group of words.

• It can also be a single noun/pronoun without any modifiers.

The following two short sentences contain 4 noun phrases.

Ex: Squirrels eat nuts. They like them.

.
Which are the four noun phrases?
Identify the noun phrases in the following
sentences:
1. The young man threw the dog a bone.
2. The intelligent girl enjoyed reading the interesting book.
3. They watched a boring film.
4. The old mansion was demolished.
5. Robert loved his pet dearly.
VERB PHRASE
This usually contains a main verb as the head
word together with any accompanying
auxiliary verbs.

Ex: I might call him.

I should have called him.
I will call him.
He should have been called.
Verb phrases generally are divided among two types:
finite verbs nonfinite verbs

Have a beginning and ending have no beginning or ending

• A finite verb – a verb that can take as its subject a

pronoun such as I, you, he, she, it etc.
• Verbs with a past or present form are finite (they have a
beginning and an ending).

Ex: She lives in London. (Lives- finite verb: present)

My sister spoke French on holiday. (Spoke – finite verb:
past)
• Non- finite verbs – these are verbs without a
tense. For example the present participle, the
infinitive, the past participle and the gerund.

• Ex: It took courage to continue after the

accident.
• Reading is my passion.
• Mark saw Jane running.
• They had gone before the rain started.
• They were walking to school when it started to
rain.
Remember that gerunds are words that are formed
with verbs but act as nouns.
Present participles do not act as nouns.
Instead, they act as modifiers or complete progressive verbs.
To find gerunds in sentences, just look for a verb+ing that is
used as a noun.

Take a look at these examples:

Gerund
1. Swimming in the ocean has been Sharon’s passion since she
was five years old.
2. Let’s go dancing at the club tonight.
3. I’ve been dreaming of summer all winter long.

4. I was watching a film. Present

5. He is learning English. participle
6. We were running through the forest.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FINITE AND NON-
FINITE VERBS Are the underlined verbs
finite or non-finite verbs?
• 1. Paulruns to work everyday.
• 2. They have run away
together.
• 3. Tim gave Paul a menacing
look.
• 4. Katie was watching
television when the phone
rang.
• 5. We found him smoking
behind the shed.
CLAUSES
A clause – contains a verb phrase and other types of
phrases. It is made up of 5 elements:

S = Subject
V = Verb
O = Object
C = Complement
A = Adverbial
1. The Subject – refers to the main person/ thing the
clause is about. It performs the action that is
described so it usually comes before the verb.

Ex: My teacher called my project a masterpiece yesterday.

subject verb object complement adverbial

2. The Verb – it is the 2nd element: called

3. The object – An object is a noun or pronoun and
gives meaning to the subject and the verb in a sentence. It
normally follows the subject and verb and it provides an
answer to the question “who/what has something been
done to?”
Ex: My teacher called my project a masterpiece yesterday.

subject verb object complement adverbial

The object can be divided into :

Direct Object or Indirect Object
DIRECT OBJECTS
• Direct objects are nouns, pronouns, clauses and
phrases.
• Direct objects follow transitive verbs (action
verbs that require something or someone to
receive the action).
• You can identify the direct object by using this
simple formula:
subject + verb + who/what? = DIRECT OBJECT
DIRECT OBJECTS: example 1

Try using this formula to determine the direct object as you

consider the following example:
Ex 1: Dennis and Susan ate omelettes for breakfast.
• The subject is “Dennis and Susan,” and the verb is “ate.” Next
ask yourself the question “who or what?” about the verb
“ate.” What did the subject, Dennis and Susan, eat? They ate
omelettes. Therefore, the direct object is “omelettes.”
DIRECT OBJECTS: example 2
Consider the following example to find the direct object
that follows a clause or phrase:
Ex 2: Sophia
hates when her father lectures her
about her grades.
• The subject is “Sophia,” and the verb is “hates.” Next
ask yourself the question “who or what?” about the
verb “hates.” What does the subject, Sophia, hate? She
hates “when her father lectures her about her grades.”
This subordinate clause (a combination of words that contain a
subject and a verb, but do not form a complete sentence) is the
direct object of the sentence.
INDIRECT OBJECTS
• Indirect objects are nouns or pronouns that identify
to whom or for whom the action of the verb is
performed, as well as who is receiving the direct
object.
• Indirect objects are seen infrequently.
• In order to have an indirect object, there is a direct object.
• The indirect object typically precedes the direct object
and is identified by asking who or what received the
direct object.
INDIRECT OBJECTS: example 1
Consider the following:
Ex 1: Samuelsent his aunt a postcard from
Martha’s Vineyard.
• “Samuel” is the subject, and “sent” is the verb.
• Ask the question “sent what?”
• “A postcard” is the direct object.
• To determine the indirect object, ask who received the direct
object?
• “His aunt” is the indirect object.
INDIRECT OBJECTS: example 2

Ex 2: Marc paints the house for his family.

• “Marc” is the subject, and “paints” is the verb.
• Ask the question “paints what?”
• “The house” is the direct object.
• To determine the indirect object, ask for whom did the
subject do the action?
• “For his family” is the indirect object.
4. The Complement – it gives more information about
the subject or the object.
Ex: a masterpiece
The teacher called my project a masterpiece yesterday.
5. The adverbial – It normally provides information
about:
a) Time – when/how often something happened.
b) Place – where something happened.
c) Manner – how something happened.
d) Frequency – how many times something happened
Ex: I spoke to him last week. – adverbial of time
I spoke to him at the bus stop. – adverbial of place
I spoke to him quietly. – adverbial of manner
I spoke to him often. – adverbial of frequency
Adverbials are often found at the end of a
sentence but they can also occupy different
positions in a clause. A clause can also contain
more than one adverbial.

Ex: Last week I spoke to him at school.

Identify the clause elements (S/V/O/C/A) in Subject:
who/what
each of the following sentences: does
something

1. She hid the letter hastily. Adverbial:

2. Tom hired a car. Time/place/manner/
how often
3. The concert was marvellous.
4. I saw Rachel in the street. Complement: gives

5. I have sent them an invitation. you more info

about either the

6. The teacher became very angry. subject or object

7. She made him furious. Object: what

8. The bells rang.

the subject did
to this

9. Last week we moved to our flat.

ANSWERS
1. She hid the letter hastily. S V dO A
2. Tom hired a car. S V dO
3. The concert was marvellous. S V C
4. I saw Rachel in the street. S V O A
5. I have sent them an invitation. S V iO dO
6. The teacher became very angry. S V C
7. She made him furious. S V dO C
8. The bells rang. S V
9. Last week we moved to our flat. A S V dO