What is the difference between Clauses and Phrases?

Question

dominantvampire · Answer

If you are unsure whether a group of words is a clause or phrase, break down the words into the parts of speech to help you decide. If there is a subject and a verb with a predicate, it is a clause. If there is a noun but no verb or a verb but no noun and does not have a predicate, it is a phrase.

dominantvampire · Answer

A clause is defined as a group of related words that contains a subject and predicate (verb).
e.g. he came.

 

A phrase is defined as a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb.
e.g. on the table.

inowalst · Answer

A clause consists of a subject and a predicate, where the predicate is typically a verb phrase - a verb together with any object and other modifiers.
A phrase could be any group of words, or a single word.