PHRASE

= a linguistic unit at a level between a word and a clause

- in modern grammar various kinds of phrase are recognized: verb phrase VP, noun phrase NP, adjective phrase AdjP, adverb phrase AdvP, and prepositional phrase PP

 

CLAUSE

= a grammatical unit operating at a level lower than a sentence but higher than a phrase

a) in traditional grammar, a clause has its own subject and a finite verb, and is part of a larger sentence. Thus, for example, She was thirteen when she got her scholarship consists of a main clause (She was thirteen) and a subordinate clause (when she got her scholarship).

b) in modern grammar, non-finite and verbless clauses also belong to clauses, so that the following, although containing only one finite verb, has four clauses:

My mother travelled by two buses each day / to get there on time, / leaving home at 5.30 am /  and usually returning after 10 pm.

(- in more traditional analysis, non-finite and verbless clauses would be categorized as phrases)

 

SENTENCE

= the largest unit of language structure treated in traditional grammar; usually having a subject and a predicate, and (when written) beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop (BUT! not all sentences have a subject and predicate, e.g. imperatives usually lack an expressed subject)

  

SIMPLE SENTENCE

= a single independent clause containing a single finite verb phrase

= consists of a single independent clause, which may be one of seven types (SV, SVO, SVC, SVA, SVOO, SVOC, SVOA); the types differ according to whether one or more clause elements are obligatorily present in addition to the subject (S) and verb (V); the V element in a simple clause is always a finite verb phrase

!!! All clause elements in a simple sentence are normally realized by phrases !!!

 

COMPOUND SENTENCE

= a sentence containing two or more coordinate clauses

= coordination

 

COMPLEX SENTENCE

= a sentence containing at least one subordinate clause, in addition to its main (matrix) clause

= contains two or more clauses; one of these is a main clause, which is finite and can stand on its own; the other clause or clauses are subordinate to this or in some way dependent on it

= consists of only one main clause, and one or more subordinate clauses functioning as           an element of the sentence