How to use our Phrase or Clause Checker
Simply type your text in the text-box above, the results will display below it, giving you a detailed analysis of whether the text is a phrase or clause, with the rules used to determine it.
Phrases vs Clauses: What's the Difference?
When discussing sentence structure, the terms “phrase” and “clause” tend to come up often. While they may seem to be interchangeable, there are very specific traits that distinguish one from the other.
Phrases and clauses are, quite simply, groups of words used together in a sentence. You may consider them “building blocks”. That's a description I use for many of the things that make up our language, because I believe it's a good analogy.
Like any good blocks, using the right ones for the task helps build a more solid structure. In other words, your writing or speech will be more polished and the meaning of your sentences more precise with the right materials and the skills to use them.
Unlike some of the more basic principles of US English, it's likely you didn't learn about the differences between clauses and phrases in great detail during your early school years.
Part of the reason, which I hope to demonstrate, is the simplicity of recognizing the difference. Because we're attaching labels to them, though, it's not a matter of common sense. Which is why an online phrase or clause checker can come in handy.
The Basics
First of all, the words used in phrases and clauses will generally be related, at least within the context. On the other hand, only one of the two blocks will contain everything needed to form a stand-alone sentence.
If you recall sentence structure basics, that means there will be a subject, along with a predicate containing a verb and what's being said about the subject.
A word group that fits the description above is a clause, and if it can be used as a sentence on its own, it's an independent clause. If the clause needs the support of something else in a sentence, it's a dependent clause, even though it's grammatically correct. I'll expand on that statement shortly.
If a group of words doesn't meet the criteria above, it's a phrase. (Did I mention that this is pretty simple to understand?)
The Details
Let's look at a few phrase examples:
- “Running to the store”
- “Sally and Jeff”
- “Almost there”
The three examples above all lack something, and won't stand alone as sentences. That's all that's required to put them all in the phrase category. Now, on the other side of the coin, here are some clause examples:
- “Shelly ran”
- “I almost fainted” (“Almost” is not required to qualify this one.)
- “I would rather know”
Each of those examples above can be used as a complete sentence, if a period is added. They can also be used as clauses within a sentence:
“Shelly ran to the corner.” (independent clause + dependent clause)
Independent clauses can also be joined with a comma, followed by a conjunction:
“I almost fainted, so George made me sit down” (independent clause + ”, so ” + independent clause)
Lastly, independent clauses can be joined directly by a semicolon: “David was shocked; he'd had no idea the line would be so long.”
A colon following a clause, on the other hand, generally indicates a full stop as in the sentence I've typed, above. It's actually two separate sentences.
That's all there is to it!
While I could provide hundreds of practical examples and complex explanations, the point of this tutorial is to provide you with the simplest breakdown I can. I believe you'll find practice is all you need, to become adept at recognizing and using clauses and phrases in your writing.
You probably noticed I didn't write “and speaking”. While formal speech may include all of the above, most of us give very little thought to using clauses and phrases correctly during the actual act of speaking.
That means following the rules tends to become more important when we're writing. That said, you'll probably notice some deviation from the rules on my part, in writing this article. I'll simply plead guilty.
When it's Okay to Break the Rules
Now's as good a time as any to contradict myself. Though the rules are not just suggestions, there will almost always be exceptions to them. As with many building blocks of a language, there are times when clauses and phrases may be used incorrectly without having to hang your head in grammatical shame.
Dialog in creative writing is probably the most common place to find authors sidestepping the rules. The most common “infraction” is probably the use of phrases as complete sentences. Let's say you're writing about a casual conversation between baseball players in the dugout:
“Who's up next?”
“Hank.”
“Really? Damn.”
“Not a good thing?”
“Hasn't had a good hit in the past three games.”
That's a pretty short example, but you can see how it could apply in many dialog instances. Different dialects within our language may have even more pronounced “errors”.
Surprisingly, there are other types of writing where you'll find a good mix of cases where clause and phrase errors exist and for the most part, are ignored. Titles, subtitles and headings often consist of phrases in technical writing and several other genres.
Poets and songwriters will often use phrases in order to match meter or for emphasis. Professional reports may often consist of itemized lists, and those are rarely written with clauses in mind. (Hey, that last sentence consists of two independent clauses.) You'll notice more of that kind of thing, now that you know the difference.
A good understanding of phrases and clauses will come in handy, whether you're writing speeches for the President of the United States or simply interested in sounding smarter. As I hope you've gathered from this piece, the rules and concepts aren't hard to master.