ENGLISH 7

QUARTER 1 – LECTURE #5: PHRASES, CLAUSES, SENTENCES

SENTENCE
 A sentence is a group of words giving a complete thought. A sentence must contain a subject and a
predicate.
Subject
 The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something.
 The subject of a sentence is usually positioned at the beginning of a sentence.
Predicate
 The predicate is positioned after the subject, begins in the form of a verb, and gives meaning via
expressing a thought about the subject.

VERB
 A verb describes an action, state or occurrence. It forms the main part of the predicate of a sentence.
TYPES OF VERBS
1. ACTION VERBS - are words that express action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession (have, own, etc.).
Action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive.
2. LINKING VERBS - connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames or describes
the subject. The most common linking verb is the verb to be in all of its forms (am, are, is, was, were,
etc.).
3. HELPING VERBS - are used before action or linking verbs to convey additional information regarding
aspects of possibility or time. The main verb with its accompanying helping verb is called a verb phrase.

 A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and modifiers. It
contains only one independent clause.
Example:
I like spaghetti.
He reads many books.

Subject + Predicate = SENTENCE

Example: Cassia is writing a letter.

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PHRASE
 A phrase is a group of words without a subject or verb.
 Phrases act as a part of speech but cannot stand alone as a sentence. The words in a phrase act
together so that the phrase itself functions as a single part of speech.

TYPES OF PHRASES
 Infinitive Phrase - consists of an infinitive (to + simple form of verb) and modifier or other words
associated to the infinitive. An infinitive phrase always functions as an adjective, adverb or a noun in a
sentence.
Example: He likes to read books.
 Gerund Phrase - A gerund phrase consists of gerund (verb + -ing) and modifiers or other words
associated with gerund. A gerund phrase acts as a noun in a sentence.
example: Weeping of a baby woke him up.
 Noun Phrase - A noun phrase (NP) can be a group of words built around a single noun.
example: The animals need water.
 Verb Phrase - A verb phrase (VP, also called a "verb group") consists of a main verb and its auxiliary
verbs (including modals).
example: We have been working since 9am.
 Adjective Phrase - An adjective phrase is a group of words that describes a noun or a pronoun.
example: He has great and clever ideas.
 Adverb Phrase - An adverb phrase can be a group of words built around a single adverb or a group of
words that answer how, when, where and why the action will be done.
example: Please do it very carefully.
 Prepositional Phrase - A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by its object (a noun or
a pronoun),
example: They were arguing about money.
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CLAUSE
 A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. (A clause may function as an adjective,
an adverb, or a noun.)
TYPES OF CLAUSES
1. Independent or Main Clause - is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a
complete thought.
2. Dependent or Subordinate Clause - also has a subject and a verb but it cannot stand by itself
because it starts with subordinate words or subordinating conjunctions.
 It can only be part of a sentence.
 Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even
though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and
while.

Example: Mango and melon are my favorite fruits, although my sister does not like them as much.
Independent Clause Dependent Clause

Note: If a dependent clause is placed in the beginning of a sentence, a comma must follow