Clause

In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition.[1] In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase, being instead marked on the verb (this is especially common in null subject languages).

Dependent Clause
A dependent clause (sometimes called a subordinate clause) is a clause that augments an independent clause with additional information, but which cannot stand alone as a sentence. Dependent clauses modify the independent clause of a sentence or serve as a component of it. Some grammarians use the term subordinate clause as a synonym for dependent clause, but in some grammars subordinate clause refers only to adverbial dependent clauses.

Independent Clause
An independent clause (or main clause) is a clause thats not scared, also known as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate; it makes sense by itself.

Noun Clause
A noun clause can be used like a noun. It can be a subject, predicate nominative, direct object, appositive, indirect object, or object of the preposition. Some of the English words that introduce noun clauses are that, whether, who, why, whom, what, how, when, whoever, where, and whomever. Notice that some of these words also introduce adjective and adverbial clauses. A clause is a noun clause if a pronoun (he, she, it, or they) could be substituted for it.

Relative Clause or Adjective Clause

y like all dependent clauses, it will contain a verb (and it will also contain a subject unless it is a non-finite dependent clause). However, in a pro-drop language the subject may be a zero pronounthat is, the pronoun may not be explicitly included because its identity is conveyed by a verbal inflection. it will begin with a relative adverb [when, where, or why in English] or a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which in English]. However, the English relative pronoun may be omitted and only implied if it plays the role of the object of the verb or object of a preposition in a restrictive clause; for example, He is the boy I saw is equivalent to He is the boy whom I saw, and I saw the boy you are talking about is equivalent to the more formal I saw the boy about whom you are talking. the relative clause will function as an adjective, answering questions such as "what kind?", "how many?" or "which one?".

Adverb Clause
As with all dependent clauses, they cannot stand alone.

Noun Phrase
Noun phrases can make use of an apposition structure. This means that the elements in the noun phrase are not in a head-modifier relationship, but in a relation of equality. An example of this is I, Caesar, declare ..., where "Caesar" and "I" do not modify each other. Possible Modifiers: y determiners: articles (the, a), demonstratives (this, that), numerals (two, five, etc.), possessives (my, their, etc.), and quantifiers (some, many, etc.). In English, determiners are usually placed before the noun; adjectives (the red ball); or complements, in the form of a prepositional phrase (such as: the student of physics), or a Thatclause (the claim that the earth is round); modifiers; pre-modifiers if before the noun and usually either as nouns (the university student) or adjectives (the beautiful lady), or post-modifiers if after the noun. A post modifier may be either a prepositional phrase (the man with long hair) or a relative clause (the house where I live). The difference between modifiers and complements is that complements complete the meaning of the noun; complements are necessary, whereas modifiers are optional because they add information about the noun.

y y y

Verb Phrase
In phrase structure grammars such as generative grammar, the VP is a phrase that is headed by a verb. A verb phrase may be constructed from a single verb; often, however, the verb phrase will consist of various combinations of the main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers, complements, and adjuncts.

Adverb Phrase
An adverbial phrase is a linguistic term for a group of two or more words operating adverbially, when viewed in terms of their syntactic function.

Non-Finite Clause
Non-finite clause is a dependent clause whose verb is non-finite; for example, many languages can form nonfinite clauses from infinitives. Like any subordinate clause, a non-finite clause serves a grammatical role commonly that of a noun, adjective, or adverb in a greater clause that contains it.

Adjective Phrase
An adjective acts as the head of an adjectival phrase. In the simplest case, an adjectival phrase consists solely of the adjective; more complex adjectival phrases may contain one or more adverbs modifying the adjective ("very strong"), or one or more complements (such as "worth several dollars", "full of toys", or "eager to please"). In English, attributive adjectival phrases that include complements typically follow their subject ("an evildoer devoid of redeeming qualities").