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Badmojo
Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Location: I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
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 Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject: Clause vs phrase |
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For people with better grammar books or grammar knowledge than me, here's one for you. What's the difference between a clause and a phrase?
Thank you. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:18 pm Post subject: Re: Clause vs phrase |
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| Badmojo wrote: |
For people with better grammar books or grammar knowledge than me, here's one for you. What's the difference between a clause and a phrase?
Thank you. |
A clause contains a verb and a phrase has no verb. |
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Badmojo
Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Location: I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
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| Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: Clause vs phrase |
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| Wangja wrote: |
| Badmojo wrote: |
For people with better grammar books or grammar knowledge than me, here's one for you. What's the difference between a clause and a phrase?
Thank you. |
A clause contains a verb and a phrase has no verb. |
Thank you.
Can you give me some examples please? |
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Sliver
Joined: 04 May 2003
Location: The third dimension
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 4:56 am Post subject: |
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well, I see verbs in the clauses but not in the phrases ..... |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:45 am Post subject: |
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Clause is the name of the guy who comes down your chimney at xmas.
Phrase is what you get when a Korean compliments you  |
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seirogan
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:18 am Post subject: |
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A clause has a subject and verb and a phrase is lacking either a subject or verb.
The man is sitting on the sofa. (cluase)
The man WHO IS SITTING ON THE SOFA is my brother. (adjective clause....describes the man and has a subject and a verb)
The man SITTING ON THE SOFA is my brother. (adjective phrase describing the man...there is no subject)
The man has been sitting on the sofa SINCE I CAME HOME. (adverbial clause...has a subject and verb)
The man has been sitting on the sofa SINCE COMING HOME. (adverbial phrase)
Clauses can be independent and occur by itself or dependent and must be attached to and independent clause.
Although I have eatien, I am still hungry.
However, now I am confused. (The man sitting on the sofa is my brother.) "Sitting on the sofa" is a gerund phrase and gerunds function as nouns. But doesn't "sitting on the sofa" describe the man and is therefore functioning as an adjective? |
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denverdeath
Joined: 21 May 2005
Location: Boo-sahn
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denverdeath
Joined: 21 May 2005
Location: Boo-sahn
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:44 am Post subject: |
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seirogan,
I ain't no wiz, but I think you're looking at a phrase, not a gerund, in your example. At least that's what the site said...
http://cctc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#gerunds
Gerund: a verb form, ending in -ing, which acts as a noun. Running in the park after dark can be dangerous. Gerunds are frequently accompanied by other associated words making up a gerund phrase ("running in the park after dark").
Because gerunds and gerund phrases are nouns, they can be used in any way that a noun can be used:
as subject: Being king can be dangerous for your health.
as object of the verb: He didn't particularly like being king.
as object of a preposition: He wrote a book about being king.
If we changed your example to, "Sitting on the sofa is a wonderful way to pass the time," then it would be a gerund, I think. |
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Badmojo
Joined: 07 Mar 2004
Location: I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 7:42 am Post subject: |
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I gave my student Wangja's explanation and that's good enough for me.
Why do some students insist on knowing the most insignificant grammar distinction when they can't adequately speak in the past or the future?
As far as I'm concerned, a phrase is something on Wheel Of Fortune.
A clause? Hey, I'll go with Grotto on that one. |
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the saint
Joined: 09 Dec 2003
Location: not there yet...
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Badmojo wrote: |
Why do some students insist on knowing the most insignificant grammar distinction when they can't adequately speak in the past or the future? |
personally, I only speak in the present too... I find that if I talk in the future, my conversation is out of sync with everyone else's
It may well be that the person concerned needs to know that very distinction for some reason i.e. they've come across the words used in a grammar book their studying from, they've heard a definition of some grammar with those terms in or even that they themselves plan one day to teach grammar in Korea to Koreans. I never think less of a student for asking any kind of question - at least it shows they are thinking about the language - more than can be said for some of the people who we teach eh?!
Anyway, what is the 'future'  ? |
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denverdeath
Joined: 21 May 2005
Location: Boo-sahn
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| Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Badmojo wrote: |
| Why do some students insist on knowing the most insignificant grammar distinction when they can't adequately speak in the past or the future? |
They want to know this crap because most of them believe that it'll get them into SNU or get them a higher TOEIC score. Most of them don't realize that the best way to achieve a higher TOEIC score is to talk to people and ask questions. Hmmm...maybe that's what they were doing? Smart little buggers. |
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