Clause
Phrase
A 'phrase' is a group usually made up of more than one word, and it is a group
that CANNOT stand on its own like a clause/sentence.
Noun Phrase
Verb Phrase
Adjective Phrase
Prepositional Phrase
A phrase which functions exactly like a single noun, verb, adjective or preposition.
For example, 'a tall building situated in Central' in 'There is a tall building
situated in Central' can be reduced to 'a building', an [Article + Noun] structure.
So that original group of words behaves like a simple noun, right? And so that group
is called a 'noun phrase'. A phrase has its most basic part, the 'head'. 'Building'
in the above cases is the 'head' of the noun phrase.
Similarly, an adjective phrase will have an adjective as its head. The phrase can
then be an expansion based on this head. For example, in 'The place was very crowded
indeed', 'very crowded indeed' is an adjective phrase. It can be reduced to the most
important head adjective 'crowded'. The adverbs 'very' and 'indeed' only add
more information about the head adjective.
Clause
A 'clause' is a group of words that CONTAINS A VERB (N.B. some grammarians don't
define it that way).
Finite Clause
A clause that contains a FINITE VERB. A 'finite verb' is a verb that shows things
like number (singular or plural), person (first/second/third person) and tense.
For example, the 'likes' in 'He likes ice cream' indicates that it is third person,
singular and present tense.
A STAND-ALONE CLAUSE/SENTENCE SHOULD CONTAIN AT LEAST ONE FINITE VERB.
Non-Finite Clause
A clause that contains a NON-FINITE VERB. Present participles (+'-ing') and past
participles (i.e. the verb forms used with the perfect tense) are non-finite
verbs. For example, in 'Made from the finest potatoes, McDonald's French fries are
a must for everyone', 'Made from the finest potatoes' is a 'non-finite clause'
because the non-finite verb 'made' DOES NOT SHOW INFORMATION ON NUMBER, PERSON
AND TENSE.
Nominal Clause (Noun Clause)
A clause that functions like a simple noun or a noun phrase. For example, in 'She
said that she will return soon', 'that she will return soon' is a finite clause.
This clause as a whole acts as the object of the verb 'said'. You can substitute a
noun for the whole clause, e.g. 'She said something', where 'something' is a noun.
Another example. In 'She enjoys talking to people', 'talking to people' is a non-finite
clause. This clause again functions like the 'something' above. Thus, it is again a
'nominal clause' or a 'noun clause'.
Adverbial Clause (Adverb Clause)
A clause that functions like a simple adverb (e.g. 'quickly') or an adverb phrase (e.g.
'fairly quickly'). For example, in 'When she comes, we will give her a surprise', 'When
she comes' is an adverbial clause because its role is just like an adverb/adverb phrase which
tells us about the time at which an event (i.e. giving her a surprise) takes place. We can
use an adverb of time 'Now' to replace 'When she comes'.
REMEMBER, clauses that give us information about the time, place, conditions, manner,
etc. associated with the occurrence of an event are usually adverbial clauses.
Last Updated 4 June 1996
(C) Copyright 1996 Raymond Tang
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