The various parts of speech are grouped into phrases and clauses, which make up the basic sentence.
Phrases
Phrases are groups of related words that do not contain a subject-verb combination or express a complete thought. There are noun, prepositional, participial, verb, and infinitive phrases.
Clauses
Clauses are groups of related words that contain a subject-verb combination. Independent clauses express a complete thought and can stand by themselves as sentences. Subordinate clauses serve as part of a sentence but do not express a complete thought and cannot stand by themselves. They are subordinate to independent clauses.
