Using Phrases and Clauses

Phrase and clause are banded about in the world of literacy and grammar and it can get confusing working out which is which or what they do. On top of this, there are the many types of phrase that are used in sentences to add interest or make things clear.

These can be difficult for pupils to get their heads around. However, making sense of the different types of phrase is crucial to their composition skills. Writing should be a sequence of conscious choices, and showing pupils how to make the best language decisions in their own pieces is one of the hardest but most important things a teacher does in English lessons. This blog post will clear up the clause or phrase definition and delve into phraseology.

Phrase or Clause?

A clause is a piece of language that contains a noun or pronoun (the subject) and a verb. In a clause, the subject acts out the verb. The word clause is derived from the word close, which suggests that this is a piece of closed, complete written or spoken information. It describes the subject’s actions, although it may need additional context to make total sense.

Phrases are another matter. A phrase is an ingredient in a sentence or clause. It is a set of words that serve a function, such as adding meaning, guiding the reader, provoking the imagination or providing clarity. Phrases make reading the pleasure it can be and pull us into a text, making us empathise and want to know more. However, they do not describe a subject’s actions entirely or make sense on their own, even though they do have some meaning.

To complicate this, there are many types of phrase and each has its own purpose.

Types of Phrase

The simplest phrase is a noun phrase. A noun phrase is made up of a noun and a determiner. It specifies what thing the sentence will be discussing, and can also tell us aspects about it such as how many things are being talked about, or who they belong to.

An expanded noun phrase (also called an adjectival noun phrase) is one more step in description and clarity, if used well. It further specifies what is being talked or written about by using an adjective to describe it.

A single adjective can be used to describe the noun, or multiple adjectives can be used to list several details:

Pupils in early KS2 can make the mistake of over-cooking these phrases by throwing in too many ingredients. The silky, blue, flowing, shining ribbons flew in the wild, stormy, violent wind. It can be fun to give pupils sentences like this to review and condense.

For young writers, expanded noun phrases are a time of discovering rhythm and imagery in sentences. By discussing their effect on the reader, it helps hone skills for more challenging independent writing later in KS2. If you need any inspiration to help introduce pupils to expanded noun phrases, take a look at this PowerPoint.
 

Going Further with Phrases

It isn’t just noun phrases that can be expanded on to add meaning. Verb phrases, on their own, are simply made up of the verbs in the sentence, along with any modal verbs that clarify the meaning, show the tense or add emphasis.

This lets the reader know what action the author is writing about. However, the action must often be described to create the atmosphere that a writer wants to convey. 

Sometimes, a single adverb is enough to describe the verb.

At other times, though, a longer phrase must be used to describe the action properly. This is called an adverbial phrase. It can be used to describe a lot of things about the verb, such as how frequently, quickly or purposefully it is done. Adverbials can also take up different positions, forming adverbial phrases in almost any part of the sentence.

Here, He walked away would be a clause, because it contains a subject and a verb. The rest is a phrase, because it adds context to the subject’s actions, rather than describing them entirely on its own. If you want a longer resource to explain adverbs and adverbials to the class, you might enjoy this PowerPoint. For an exercise on fronted adverbials specifically, this resource might be for you.

A prepositional phrase is a particular kind of adverbial. It tells you about positions, or how one thing is related to another in a sentence. Prepositions give precision. (Say that ten times.) They give place in a race and tell you whether you’re in, out or shaking it all about. A prepositional phrase contains a preposition and a noun, to tell you what the subject is related to.

Like other types of adverbial, a prepositional phrase can go in different places in the sentence, and can be joined with other adverbial phrases to give an even more detailed description.

In these examples, on, at the front of and next to are the prepositions, while drive and van are the nouns. Together, they show the position of the car.  For a more in-depth explanation of prepositional phrases, check out this PowerPoint or this worksheet.
 

Conclusion

Phrases and clauses are the team in a sentence that get the meaning across. The clause holds the main meaning in its claws while the phrases get out their phrase book and make everything make better sense. With their new knowledge of the different types of phrase, budding writers can look at model texts, examine the types of phrase used and work out why the author chose to do this. They can then try making more conscious choices about the ingredients in their own sentences, helping them to be more precise, concise and to make stronger connections with their target audience.
 

I have been a teacher for 28 years, deputy head for about twenty-four of those, and taught from Reception all the way up to Year 6. In this time, I did a two-year stint with my local authority as an adviser for ICT, working in a wide range of schools with teachers and children. I have always been a class teacher at heart, inspired by the wonderful minds of pupils, which makes teaching such an intense but creative and satisfying career.

Take a look at CGP+ resources by Simon.