Phrases and Clauses

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 8 English (Cambridge Lower Secondary 0861)

Words join together into phrases, and phrases join into clauses. Checkpoint reading papers ask you to find the main clause, identify a subordinate or relative clause, and — most often — explain why a writer opened a sentence with a clause or a phrase. Your own writing reaches the top band in Grammar and punctuation only when you move clauses and phrases around for effect. This page teaches both, step by step. (How clauses combine into simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences is covered on the next page, Sentence types.)

Phrase or clause? The key difference

Part 1: Phrases

A phrase is named after its most important word, the head. Learn these four main types first, then the special phrases that writers use for effect.

1. Noun phrase — a noun (the head) plus the words around it. An expanded noun phrase adds determiners, adjectives and extra information before or after the noun.

Expanded noun phrases pack detail into one part of the sentence, so the reader gets a sharp picture quickly. They are named in the Grammar and punctuation marking descriptions for writing, so use them in every piece.

2. Verb phrase — the main verb plus any auxiliary or modal verbs: 'was running', 'has been waiting', 'might have forgotten', 'should leave'. The verb phrase carries the tense and the attitude (certainty, possibility, obligation).

3. Prepositional phrase — a preposition + a noun phrase: 'under the bridge', 'during the night', 'with a nervous smile', 'across the burning sand'. It can work like an adjective (describing a noun) or like an adverb (telling where, when or how).

4. Adverbial phrase — a group of words without a subject + verb that does an adverb's job (how, when, where, how often, why): 'very slowly', 'early the next morning', 'as quickly as possible', 'in a hurry', 'every few minutes'. Many adverbial phrases are prepositional phrases; some are built round an adverb ('very carefully').

When an adverbial phrase opens the sentence it is a fronted adverbial: 'Early the next morning, the fishermen set out.'

Special phrases writers use for effect:

Part 2: Clauses

A clause contains a subject and a verb. There are two big families.

In 'The market closed early because a storm was coming', the main clause is 'The market closed early' and the subordinate clause is 'because a storm was coming'.

Worked example. 'As the sun disappeared behind the hills, the shepherd, who had walked all day, gathered his flock.' Remove 'As the sun disappeared behind the hills' (subordinate clause — starts with *as*). Remove 'who had walked all day' (relative clause). Main clause: the shepherd gathered his flock.

Relative clauses: defining and non-defining

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that gives information about a noun. It begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) or with where / when for places and times. It usually comes straight after the noun it describes.

whose shows possession: 'the boy whose bicycle was stolen'. whom is the formal object form: 'the guest whom we invited'. where/when: 'the café where we first met', 'the summer when everything changed'.

Why writers use relative clauses: to add detail about a person or place without starting a new sentence, to give background (a character's past, a fact about a place) at the moment it is needed, to make writing flow and, in non-defining clauses, to slip in an extra comment or opinion.

Adverbial clauses

An adverbial clause is a subordinate clause that works like an adverb: it tells us when, why, how, where, under what condition or in spite of what the main action happens. It begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Embedded clauses

An embedded clause is a subordinate clause placed inside a main clause, usually between the subject and its verb. Most embedded clauses are relative clauses, marked off by a pair of commas.

• Main clause: 'The lighthouse keeper refused to leave.'
• With an embedded clause: 'The lighthouse keeper, who had lived on the island for forty years, refused to leave.'

Effect: the writer interrupts the main clause to give a key detail at exactly the right moment. Here, the embedded clause explains *why* the refusal matters (he has spent his whole life there). It also slows the sentence down and adds weight before the verb.

Noun clauses (for strong students)

A noun clause does the job of a noun — it can be the subject or object of the verb. It often starts with *that, what, whether, how, why*.

• Subject: 'What she discovered in the attic changed everything.'
• Object: 'I never knew that my grandmother had been a pilot.'

Starting a sentence with a 'What…' noun clause delays the key information and creates curiosity.

How clauses and phrases create effect

Checkpoint very often asks why a writer placed a clause or phrase at the start of a sentence. Learn these possible effects so you can choose the one that fits the text.

Using clauses in your own writing

• Open some sentences with a subordinate clause, followed by a comma.
• Use at least one non-defining relative clause inside a pair of commas.
• Use an embedded clause to give background about a character or place.
• Use expanded noun phrases with a prepositional phrase or relative clause after the noun.
• Mix long, multi-clause sentences with very short main clauses for impact.
• Never let a subordinate clause stand alone as a sentence: ✗ 'Because the bus was late.' → ✓ 'We missed the start because the bus was late.'

How Checkpoint asks about phrases and clauses

Practice

1. Phrase or clause? (a) after the final whistle (b) after the final whistle blew (c) whose phone was ringing (d) with trembling hands

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   (a) phrase — no subject + verb. (b) clause — 'the final whistle' (subject) + 'blew' (verb). (c) clause — 'phone' (subject) + 'was ringing' (verb); it is a relative clause. (d) phrase — a prepositional phrase.

2. Copy the main clause: 'When the electricity failed, the shopkeeper, who had been expecting it, lit a row of candles.'

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   the shopkeeper lit a row of candles — 'When the electricity failed' is an adverbial (time) clause and 'who had been expecting it' is a relative clause.

3. Identify the type of phrase in bold: (a) To catch the early ferry, we woke at dawn. (b) The man in the grey coat looked worried. (c) Shivering in the wind, the children waited.

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   (a) infinitive phrase — shows purpose. (b) prepositional phrase working as an adjective — it tells us which man. (c) participle (-ing) phrase — it describes 'the children'.

4. Defining or non-defining? Add commas if needed. (a) The teacher who won the award is retiring. (b) Mrs Salma who won the award is retiring.

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   (a) defining — it tells us which teacher. No commas. (b) non-defining — we already know who Mrs Salma is, so the clause is extra information: 'Mrs Salma, who won the award, is retiring.'

5. Why is 'that' wrong here? 'The Nile, that is the longest river in Africa, flows north.'

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   'That' cannot introduce a non-defining relative clause (one inside a pair of commas). Use 'which': 'The Nile, which is the longest river in Africa, flows north.'

6. Expand this noun phrase twice — once with adjectives and once by adding a relative clause: 'a door'.

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   Example answers: 'a heavy, iron-studded door' / 'a heavy, iron-studded door that had been locked for a hundred years'.

7. Name the meaning of each adverbial clause: (a) Unless it rains, the match will go ahead. (b) Although he was tired, he finished the race. (c) She saved her pocket money so that she could buy a camera.

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   (a) condition. (b) contrast/concession. (c) purpose.

8. Text: 'Behind the dusty curtains of the abandoned theatre, something shifted.' Why might the writer open with the prepositional phrase? (2 marks)

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   It places the reader in the dark, eerie setting before anything happens, which creates atmosphere. It also delays the vague main clause 'something shifted', so the reader is kept waiting and the sentence builds mystery and suspense.

9. Find the embedded clause and explain its effect: 'The old fisherman, who had never once missed a morning at sea, stayed in bed that day.'

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   Embedded clause: 'who had never once missed a morning at sea'. It gives background at exactly the right moment: because he had never missed a day, staying in bed seems strange and worrying, so the reader senses something is wrong.

10. Correct this sentence fragment in two different ways: 'Because the roads were flooded.'

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    1) Add a main clause after: 'Because the roads were flooded, school was closed.' 2) Add a main clause before: 'School was closed because the roads were flooded.'

11. Text: 'Exhausted, sunburnt and hungry, the explorers finally saw the walls of the city.' What kind of phrase opens the sentence, and what is its effect?

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    An adjective phrase (a list of describing words: the past participle 'exhausted' and the adjectives 'sunburnt' and 'hungry') placed before the subject. It shows the explorers' condition first, so the reader feels their suffering, which makes the moment they see the city feel like a relief and a reward.

12. Which sentence contains a noun clause? A) The man who called you is here. B) What he said surprised everyone. C) When he called, we were out.

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    B — 'What he said' is a noun clause acting as the subject of 'surprised'. A has a relative clause, and C has an adverbial (time) clause.

13. Text: 'Through the market, past the spice stalls, under the archway and into the square, the boy ran.' Explain the effect of the structure. (2 marks)

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    The series of prepositional phrases traces the boy's route step by step, creating a feeling of speed and movement. The main clause 'the boy ran' is held back until the end, so the action lands with emphasis and the sentence builds to a climax.

14. Underline (write out) every subordinate clause: 'If you visit Luxor, you should see the temple that glows at sunset, although it is crowded.'

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    'If you visit Luxor' (condition), 'that glows at sunset' (defining relative clause), 'although it is crowded' (contrast). Main clause: 'you should see the temple'.

15. Combine into one sentence using a non-defining relative clause: 'My cousin lives in Aswan. She is a tour guide.'

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    'My cousin, who lives in Aswan, is a tour guide.' or 'My cousin, who is a tour guide, lives in Aswan.' (The relative clause sits inside a pair of commas because it is extra information.)

Quick checklist

• I can tell a phrase from a clause with the subject + verb test.
• I can name noun, verb, prepositional and adverbial phrases, plus participle, infinitive and appositive phrases.
• I can find the main clause by crossing out subordinate clauses and phrases.
• I know defining (no commas, can use 'that') from non-defining (pair of commas, never 'that') relative clauses.
• I can name the meaning of an adverbial clause: time, reason, condition, contrast, purpose, place, manner.
• I can spot an embedded clause and explain its effect.
• I can explain why a writer opens with a clause or phrase, using at least two possible effects.