1. Phrases & Clauses

2. First, what is a phrase?
A phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject or a verb.
For example:
Eating an apple
Under the willow tree
After seeing the geyser
To buy a new iPhone

3. What is a clause?
A clause is a group of words that does have both a subject and a verb.
For example:
After the rain stopped
They studied for the test
I decided to go home
Since the children are sleeping
The cage door was open

4. Identify these as either phrases or clauses:
Before baking a pie
Picking some apples
Before he lit the candle
Alice wants to be an astronaut
Although Alice wants to be an astronaut
Behind the couch
When I return from school
While juggling avocados P C C C P C P

5. Introductory Phrases
After using an introductory phrase to begin a sentence, you may or may not need to add a comma.

6. If the clause cannot act as a full sentence (for example, “After the rain stopped”), you must follow it with a comma.
For example:
After the rain stopped, the chickens emerged from their coop.
After the rain stopped, I splashed in the puddles.
After the rain stopped, the threat of a flood significantly decreased.

7. More introductory clauses that need a comma
After getting stung by a bee, Janice cried for hours.
While many people are amazed with Gary, I think he’s just okay.
To buy a new iPhone, David first needed to get a job.
Preparing to ride the giant rollercoaster, I took a deep breath.

8. Dependent versus Independent Clause
If a clause can stand on its own, it is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
I walked to the store.
It is a beautiful day.
If a clause CANNOT stand on its own, it is a DEPENDENT CLAUSE.
After I walked to the store
Since it is a beautiful day

9. If the clause can act as a full sentence (for example, “I decided to go home”), you must follow it with either a semicolon, a period, or a comma with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, so, or, etc.)
For example, any of these constructions is grammatically correct:
I decided to go home; I was tired of the zoo.
I decided to go home. I was tired of the zoo.
I decided to go home, for I was tired of the zoo.