He ran. This sentence is also a clause.

Clauses and Phrases

This KS2 English quiz looks at clauses and phrases. Sentences are made up of collections of words called 'clauses' and 'phrases'. It is easy to recognise a clause because it could be a complete sentence on its own. This sentence is a clause, too: 'He ran.' The subject is ‘he’ and the verb is ‘ran’. In this sentence, ‘he ran’ is still a clause: 'Although exhausted, he ran.' Phrases have no subject / verb pair. 'Although exhausted' is a phrase.

Understanding clauses and phrases helps you use commas properly. Our next two quizzes are all about commas, so it would be a good idea to play this quiz first.

Challenge yourself with this English quiz on the subject.

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Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
The sun was shining on the pitch, blinding the team.

The sun was shining on the pitch

was shining on the pitch

shining on the pitch, blinding

blinding the team

'The sun' is the subject and 'was shining' is the verb.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Coming home, I could smell the delicious scent of spaghetti bolognese, my favourite meal.

Coming home

Coming home, I could smell

I could smell the delicious scent of spaghetti bolognese

my favourite meal

'Coming home' and 'my favourite meal' are both phrases.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Over the fields and through the woods, the deer ran.

Over the fields

through the woods

Over the fields and through the woods

the deer ran

Although it is made up of only three words, 'the deer ran' is the clause of this sentence.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
The goalkeeper eyed the striker, leaning forward intently.

The goalkeeper

The goalkeeper eyed the striker

leaning forward

leaning forward intently

Subject / verb = 'The goalkeeper eyed'.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Tired of practising, she quietly closed the lid of the piano.

Tired of practising

of practising

of practising, she quietly closed

she quietly closed the lid of the piano

Subject / verb = 'she closed'. 'Tired of practising' is a phrase.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Despite being dark and gloomy, the weather made him happy.

Despite being

Despite being dark and gloomy

dark and gloomy, the weather

the weather made him happy

'The weather' is the subject and 'made' is its verb.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Edna, my Nan's best friend, asked me if I like gooseberries.

Edna

my Nan's best friend

Edna asked me if I like gooseberries

asked me if I like gooseberries

The phrase 'my Nan's best friend' is set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
The dog, not altogether unsurprisingly, hates having a bath.

The dog

not altogether unsurprisingly

hates having a bath

The dog hates having a bath

Often clauses are interrupted by phrases. When a phrase such as 'not altogether unsurprisingly' is used to add extra information, it needs a pair of commas to separate it from the main clause.

Find the clause in the sentence. Remember, a clause could make a complete sentence on its own.
Before lunch, I will finish reading my book.