Clause, phrase and sentence

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence
The basic unit of English grammar is the clause:
[An unlucky student almost lost a 17th century violin worth almost 200,000]

[when he left it in the waiting room of a London station.]

[William Brown inherited the 1698 Stradivarius violin from his mother]

[and had just had it valued by a London dealer at 180,000.]
Clauses are made up of phrases:
[An unlucky student] + [almost lost] + [a 17th century violin worth almost 200,000]

[when] + [he] + [left] + [it] + [in the waiting room of a London station.]
[William Brown] + [inherited] + [the 1698 Stradivarius violin] + [from his mother]
[and] [had just had it valued] + [by a London dealer] + [at 180,000.]
We can join two or more clauses together to make sentences.
An unlucky student almost lost a 17th century violin worth almost 200,000 when he left it
in the waiting room of a London station.
William Brown inherited the 1698 Stradivarius violin from his mother and had just had it
valued by a London dealer at 180,000.


clause structure
verb patterns
noun phrase
verb phrase
adverbial phrases
prepositional phrases
sentence structure
adjective phrases

clause structure

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All clauses in English have at least two parts: a noun phrase and a verb phrase:
Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase
The children
All the people in the bus
laughed
were watching
But most clauses have more than two parts:
Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase
The children
John
All of the girls
This soup
Mary and the family
She
laughed
wanted
are learning
tastes
were driving
put

a new bicycle
English
awful
to Madrid
the flowers





in a vase
The first noun phrase is the subject of the sentence:
The children laughed.
John wanted a new bicycle.
All the girls are learning English.
She put the flowers in the vase.
English clauses always have a subject:
His father has just retired. Was a teacher. He was a teacher.
Im waiting for my wife. Is late. She is late.
except for the imperative which is used to give orders:
Stop!
Go away.
and for "soft imperatives" like invitations and requests:
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again please.
If we have no other subject we use "there" or "it" as subject. We call this a dummy subject:
There were twenty people at the meeting..
There will be an eclipse of the moon tonight.
Its a lovely day.
Its nearly one oclock.
I have toothache. It hurts a lot.
verb patterns

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The structure of the clause depends on the verb. For example:
An intransitive verb has the structure: N(=noun) + V(=verb): (John) + (smiled).
A transitive verb has the structure: N + V + N: (We) + (had been playing) + (football)
A link verb has the structure: N + V + Adj : (She) + (looked) + (happy)
A phrasal verb has the structure: N + V + p + N (She) + (gave) +(back) + (the money)
or
N + V + N + p (She) + (gave) + (the money) + (back)

intransitive verbs
transitive verbs
link verbs
double object verbs
verbs with -ing forms
verbs with to + infinitive
reporting verbs with that, wh- and if clauses
two- and three-part verbs
verb patterns - adverbials
clauses: short forms
relative clauses
reporting: reports and summaries
verbs - questions and negatives
wh- clauses
Intransitive verbs have the pattern N + V (noun + verb). The clause is complete without anything else:
Noun Phrase (Subject) Verb Phrase
John
Nothing
The baby
smiled
happened
was sleeping
(John) (smiled).
(Nothing) (has happened).
(The baby) (was sleeping).
transitive verbs

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Transitive verbs have a noun phrase as object:
Noun phrase (Subject) Verb phrase Noun phrase (Object)
John
We
Some of the children
wanted
had been playing
are learning
a new bicycle.
football.
English.
This pattern is N + V + N (noun + verb + noun).
link verbs

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Some verbs are followed by an adjective phrase. The adjective phrase is called the complement:
Noun phrase
(Subject)
Verb
phrase
Adjective phrase
(complement)
I
Everyone
This soup
The milk
am feeling
looked
tastes
has gone
hungry
very happy
awful
sour
This pattern is N + V + Adj (noun + verb + adjective phrase).
These verbs are called link verbs.
Some link verbs (for example be; become; seem) can have a noun phrase as a complement:
Noun phrase (Subject) Verb phrase Noun phrase (complement)
Our neighbour
He
She
was
became
seems
a strange man
a geologist
a nice girl
This pattern is N + V + N (noun + verb + noun).
double object verbs

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Some verbs, like give and bring can have two different patterns after them:
Noun Phrase
(Subject)
Verb
Phrase
Noun Phrase
(Direct
object)
Prepositional
phrase
She
They
gave
brought
some money
a lot of food
to the old man
for the animals
>>>> <<<<
Noun Phrase
(Subject)
Verb
Phrase
Noun Phrase
(Indirect
object)
Noun Phrase
(Direct
object)
She
They
gave
brought
the old man
the animals
some money
a lot of food
These verbs are called double object verbs. When we have two noun phrases after the verb the first noun phrase is
the indirect object and the second noun phrase is the direct object.
verbs with -ing forms

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Some transitive verbs can have a noun phrase as an object:
Everybody likes good food.
George considered the problem.
or the ing form of the verb:
Everybody likes eating.
George considered starting again.
Note: we suggest that you read about Verbs with to + infinitive before doing this activity.
verbs with to + infinitive

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Some verbs have the pattern N + V + to+infinitive:
They agreed to help.
We decided to go.
Some verbs have the pattern N + V + N + to+infinitive:
She told him to go home.
They advised us to wait.
Note: we suggest that you read about Verbs with -ing forms before doing this activity.
reporting verbs with that, wh- and if clauses

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Reporting verbs with that clauses:
Some verbs introduce a report, an idea or a summary. These verbs have the pattern:
N + V + (that) + clause
When we want to say what someone says or thinks we can use a clause with that;
He said that I had to see a doctor.
I thought that he was being silly.
We can leave out the word that:
He said I had to see a doctor.
I thought he was being silly.
With some verbs we can mention the hearer as the object of the verb:
She reminded him that it was time to go.
He told me he was a friend of yours.
These verbs have the pattern;
N + V + N + (that) + clause.
Reporting verbs with wh- and if clauses
Some verbs introduce summaries, reports, questions or problems:
She explained what we had to do.
He asked if I was ready
I didnt know what to do.
These verbs have the pattern:
N + V + wh- + clause:
She wondered where she was.
or
N + V + if + clause:
Ken asked if we wanted to go.
With some verbs we can mention the hearer as the object of the verb:
She asked me if I was ready.
He told me what I had to do.
These verbs have the pattern:
N + V + N + wh- + clause:
I told them what he was doing.
or
N + V + N + if + clause:
Ken asked us if we wanted to go.
two- and three-part verbs

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Two part verbs
Some verbs consist of two words a verb and a particle (p). These verbs have a number of patterns:
Peter came in. (N + V + p)
He took out his diary. (N + V + p + N)
He gave the money back. (N + V + N + p)
Phrasal verbs
Some transitive two part verbs are phrasal verbs. They have two different patterns.
N + V + N + p
She gave the money back
He knocked the vase over
We will be leaving our friends behind
or
N + V + p + N
She gave back the money
He knocked over the vase
We will be leaving behind our friends.
When the object is a pronoun these verbs always have the first pattern N + V +N + p:
She gave it back
He knocked it over
We will be leaving them behind
Three part verbs
Some verbs are made up of three parts a verb and two particles. They have the pattern:
N + V + p + p + N:
His girl friend walked out on him.
She soon caught up with the other runners
Children should look up to their parents.
verb patterns - adverbials

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A clause often has one or more adverbial phrases:
The children laughed happily.
(N + V + Adv)
All the girls are learning English at school in the second year.
(N + V + Adv + Adv)
Last year Mary and the family were driving to Madrid in an old bus.
(Adv + N + V + Adv + Adv)
She put the flowers carefully in a vase.
(N + V + N + Adv + Adv)

clauses: short forms

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A: Short forms as answers
1. We often use short forms to answer questions. Usually we repeat the first word of the verb phrase:
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Yes, I can/ No I cant.

A: Have you seen Jack lately?
B: Yes, I have/No I havent.
A: Do you like living here?
B: Yes, I do/ No I dont.
Sometimes we change the modal verb: (see Verb Phrase)
A: Will you come?
B: Yes, we might.
A: Do you think they might come?
B: Yes, I think they will.
2. We often use verbs like think, suppose, expect and hope, to answer questions.
when the answer is yes we add so (I expect so, I hope so, etc.).
if the answer is no we say I dont think so, I dont suppose so, etc..
but with hope we say I hope not.
A: Can you come tomorrow?
B: I hope so.
A: Will they be at home?
B: I expect so.
A: Is Amsterdam the capital of The Netherlands?
B: I dont think so.
A: Do you think its going to rain?
B: I hope not.
3. We often use adverbials of probability like perhaps, probably, possibly, maybe, definitely and certainly as
short answers:
A: Do you think its going to rain?
B: Yes, possibly.
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Definitely!
When the answer is negative we put not after the adverbial:
A: Do you think its going to rain?
B: Probably not.
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Maybe not.
4. We can use short forms to agree or disagree with what someone says. Usually we use the first word in the verb
phrase:
A: Its a lovely day.
B: Yes, it is.
A: I think they might have missed their train.
B: Yes, I think they might.
A: The children will be coming to see us next week.
B: No they wont. They are going to their grandparents.
Sometimes we change the modal:
A: The children will be coming to see us next week.
B: Yes, they might.
A: The children might be coming to see us next week.
B: No they wont. They are going to their grandparents.
We use do/does//dont/doesnt to agree or disagree with a statement in the present simple form:
A: Your grandmother looks very well.
B: Yes, she does.
A: I think Jack lives here.
B: No he doesnt
and we use did/didnt for past simple:
A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip.
B: Yes, they did.
A: The children went to Malaysia last year.
B: No they didnt. They went to Singapore.
5. We sometimes put a short tag at the end of a comment. We use a Yes/No question form for the tag. If
the comment is affirmative we normally use a negative tag:
A: Its a lovely day.
B: Yes, it is, isnt it.
A: Your grandmother looks very well.
B: Yes, she does, doesnt she.
A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip.
B: Yes, they did, didnt they.
If the comment is negative we normally use an affirmative tag:
A: They didnt seem to enjoy the trip very much.
B: They didnt, did they.

A: Its not a very nice day.
B: No, it isnt, is it.

A: They havent done much.
B: No, they havent, have they.
6. Sometimes we put a tag on the end of a statement:
Its a lovely day, isnt it?
Your grandmother looks very well, doesnt she?
They havent done much, have they?
They all seemed to enjoy the trip, didnt they?
7 We use affirmative tags with so and neither or nor to add to what someone has said.
We use so to add to an affirmative:
A: John is working in Barcelona.
B: And so is Maria [= Maria is working in Barcelona, too.]
A: I love Indian food.
B: So do I = [I love Indian food, too.]

A: Theyve just bought a new computer.
B: Really? So have we. [= We have also bought a new computer.]
We use neither or nor to add to a negative:
A: I dont smoke any more.
B: Neither do I. [= I also dont smoke]

A: They havent written to us for ages.
B: Nor has Peter. [= Peter hasnt written to us for ages, too.]
A: We wont be taking a holiday this year.
B: Neither will we. [= We also wont be taking a holiday this year.]
A: I never have time for breakfast.
B: Nor have I. [= I am as busy as you]
relative clauses

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1. The relative pronouns:
The relative pronouns are:

Subject Object Possessive
who whom, who whose
which which whose
Subject Object Possessive
that that

We use who and whom for people, and which for things.
We use that for people or things.
We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses, which tell us more about people and things.
2. Relative clauses to postmodify a noun
We use relative clauses to postmodify a noun - to make clear which person or thing we are talking about. In these
clauses we can have the relative pronoun who, which, whose or that
as subject (see Clauses Sentences and Phrases)
Isnt that the woman who lives across the road from you?
The police said the accident that happened last night was unavoidable
The newspaper reported that the tiger which killed its keeper has been put down.
WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
We do not repeat the subject:
*The woman who [she] lives across the road
*The tiger which [it] killed its keeper
as object of a clause (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)
Have you seen those people who we met on holiday?
You shouldnt believe everything that you read in the newspaper.
The house that we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing which I enjoyed most about our holiday.
- Sometimes we use whom instead of who when the relative pronoun is the object:
Have you seen those people whom we met on holiday?
- When the relative pronoun is object of its clause we sometimes leave it out:
Have you seen those people we met on holiday?
You shouldnt believe everything you read in the newspaper.
The house we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed most about our holiday.
WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:
Have you seen those people who we met [them] on holiday?
The house that we rented [it] in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed [it] most about our holiday.
as object of a preposition. When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition we usually put the preposition
after the verb.:
You were talking to a woman >>> Who was the woman who you were talking to?
My parents live in that house >>> Thats the house that my parents live in.
You were talking about a book. I havent read it. >>> I havent read the book which you were talking about.
- When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition we usually leave it out:
Who was the woman you were talking to?
Thats the house my parents live in.
- Sometimes we use whom instead of who:
Who was that woman whom you were talking about.
- When we use whom or which the preposition sometimes comes at the beginning of the clause:
I havent read the book about which you were talking.
- We can use the possessive form, whose, in a relative clause:
I always forget that womans name >>> Thats the woman whose name I always forget.
I met a man whose brother works in Moscow.
3. Times and places
We also use when with times and where with places to make it clear which time or place we are talking about:
England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year when we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the tsunami happened.
Do you remember the place where we caught the train?
Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.
... but we can leave out the word when:
England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the tsunami happened.
4. Giving additional information
We use who, whom, whose, and which (but not that) in relative clauses to tell us more about a person or thing.
as subject (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)
My uncle, who was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life overseas.
I have just read Orwells 1984, which is one of the most frightening books ever written.
WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
We do not repeat the subject:

My uncle, who [he] was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life overseas.
I have just read Orwells 1984, which [it] is one of the most frightening books ever written.
as object (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)
We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed.
My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw in On the Waterfront.
- we can use whom instead of who as object:
My favourite actor was Marlon Brando, whom I saw in On the Waterfront.
WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:
We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed [it].
My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw [him] in On the Waterfront.
as object of a clause :
He finally met Paul McCartney, whom he had always admired.
We are going back to Venice, which we first visited thirty years ago.
We can also use who as the object.
He finally met Paul McCartney, who he had always admired.
WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:
He finally met Paul McCartney, whom he had always admired [him].
We are going back to Venice, which we first visited [it] thirty years ago.
as object of a preposition:
He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, who he had read about in the newspaper.
Thats the programme which we listened to last night.
- We sometimes use whom instead of who:
He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, whom he had read about in the newspaper.
- The preposition sometimes comes in front of the relative pronoun whom or which:
He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, about whom he had read in the newspaper.
Thats the programme to which we listened last night.
5. Quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns
We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns:
many of whom - most of whom - one of which - none of whom
some of which - lots of whom - two of which - etc.
We can use them as subject, object or object of a preposition.
She has three brothers two of whom are in the army.
I read three books last week, one of which I really enjoyed.
There were some good programmes on the radio, none of which I listened to.
6. Using "which" to give more information
We often use the relative pronoun which to say something about a clause:
He was usually late, which always annoyed his father.
Weve missed our train, which means we may be late.

reporting: reports and summaries

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Many teachers and learners think that tense forms in reported speech are complex.
In fact, "reported speech" follows exactly the same rules as the rest of the language.
1. When we report what people say or think we use:
clauses with that:
Everybody knew that it was Henrys birthday tomorrow.
She explained that she would do as much as she could to help.
but we can leave out the word that:
Everybody knew it was Henrys birthday tomorrow.
She explained she would do as much as she could to help.
wh-clauses (see Wh-clauses) and clauses with if (see note in Wh-Clauses)
He was asked what he had been doing the previous night.
She explained why she went by train rather than by car.
to-infinitives:
We all agreed to do as much as we could.
Who told you to come?
2. We very rarely try to report exactly what someone has said. We usually give a summary:
Mary: Oh dear, weve been walking for hours. I am exhausted. I dont think I can go any further. I really need
to stop for a rest.
Peter: Dont worry. Im not surprised that youre tired. Im tired too. Ill tell you what. Ill see if I can find a place
to sit down, and then we can stop and have our picnic.
>>>
When Mary complained that she was tired out after walking so far, Peter said they could stop for a picnic.
3. Tense forms in reports and summaries.
When we are reporting what people say or think in English we need to remember:
that the tense forms in reports and summaries are the same as in the rest of the language:
This is a letter that Andrew Brown wrote ten years ago:
I am twenty-two years old and I am at University studying engineering. I take my final exams
next month and I will finish university in July.
I want to take a year off and travel round the world. I will need to make some money while I
am travelling so Iwould like to learn to teach English as a second language so that I can
make some money while I am abroad. A friend of mine has recommended your course very
highly. She also gave me some details, but I would like to ask a few more questions.
What courses do you have in the summer and when do they start? How much do the
courses cost? Is there an examination at the end?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Andrew Brown.
If you were telling a story about Andrew might write something like this.:
When Andrew was 22 he was an engineering student in his last month at the university.
He wanted to travel abroad after he had finished his course at the university, but he would
need to earn some money while he wasabroad so he wanted to learn to teach English as a
foreign language. A friend had recommended a course but Andrew needed more
information. So he wrote to the school and asked them when their courses started and
how much they were. He also wanted to know if there was an examination at the end of the
course.
You would use past tense forms to talk about something that happened ten years ago.
If you were reporting or summarising what Andrew wrote you might start off by saying:
Andrew told me that when he was 22 he was an engineering student in his last month
... and you could go on in the same way. You would use past tense forms to talk about
something which happened ten years ago. So tense forms in reports and summaries in
English are the same as in the rest of the language.
Sometimes you have to choose between a past tense form and a present tense form.

If you are talking about the past but you mention something that is still true you could use a present tense form to
show you agree that it is true:
John said he had stayed at the Shangri-la because it is the most comfortable hotel in town.
Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro is her favourite actor.
Helen said she loves visiting New York.

... or a past tense form:
John said he had stayed at the Shangri-la because it was the most comfortable hotel in town.
Mary said she enjoyed the film because Robert de Niro was her favourite actor.
Helen said she loved visiting New York,
If we are talking about something that everybody knows is true we normally use a present tense:
Michael said he had always wanted to climb Everest because it is the highest mountain in the world.
Mary said she loved visiting New York because it is such an exciting city.
4. to-infinitives in reports and summaries:
We often use the to-infinitive after verbs of thinking and feeling to report or summarise actions:
decide - hope - intend
I think I will start all over again >>>
He decided to start all over again.
I am going to write to the newspaper about it >>>
She intended to write to the newspaper about it.
and verbs of saying:
agree - promise - refuse
I can do the shopping for you if you like >>>
He agreed to do the shopping for me.
Im sorry. I would love to help you but Im afraid I cant >>>
She refused to help me.
After some verbs we use a direct object and the infinitive (see verbs followed by infinitive):
advise - ask - encourage - invite - order - remind - tell - warn -
expect - intend - want - would like - would prefer
I think you should turn the lights out now >>>
She reminded me to turn the lights out.
Be very careful, children. The sea can be very dangerous so please dont go in the water. >>>
She warned the children not to go in the water.