How Phrases and Clauses Build a Sentence

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 11-13

Name ______________________ Date ____________

A phrase has its own subject and verb.
Circle one: True False
Which word is the preposition in this sentence? "The squirrel hid under the porch."
- hid
- under
- porch
Which group of words is a phrase?
- the rain stopped
- after the storm
- when the sun came out
Which part of this sentence is a prepositional phrase? "She left her book on the table."
- on the table
- She left
- her book
Which part of this sentence is a noun phrase? "The little boy with the striped hat waved at us."
- The little boy with the striped hat
- with the striped hat
- waved at us
Which sentence contains a subordinate clause?
- The dog barked loudly in the yard.
- The dog barked at the carrier.
- The dog barked because the carrier came.
In the sentence "Although it was cold, we went outside," which part is the subordinate clause?
- Although it was cold
- it was cold
- we went outside
In the sentence "We stayed inside because the rain got worse," which part is the subordinate clause?
- the rain got worse
- We stayed inside
- because the rain got worse
Count the prepositional phrases: "Ben put the seeds in the pot on the windowsill."
Answer: ______________
"While riding the bus, the flute fell out of Mia's bag." Which rewrite fixes the dangling modifier?
- While Mia was riding the bus, her flute fell out of the bag.
- The flute fell out of the bag while riding the bus.
- While riding the bus, Mia's flute fell out of the bag.

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

False · A clause has its own subject and verb. A phrase is a group of words acting as one unit without them.
under · Under is the small word that shows where the squirrel hid, linking the verb to the noun porch.
after the storm · "After the storm" has no subject doing a verb. It acts as one unit, so it's a phrase; the other two are clauses.
on the table · "On the table" starts with the preposition on and ends with the noun table.
The little boy with the striped hat · "The little boy with the striped hat" is built around the noun boy and acts as one unit, naming who waved. It's the noun phrase.
The dog barked because the carrier came. · "Because the carrier came" depends on the main clause to make sense, so the last sentence holds a subordinate clause.
Although it was cold · "Although it was cold" can't stand alone; it depends on the main clause "we went outside."
because the rain got worse · "Because the rain got worse" can't stand alone, even at the end of the sentence. It depends on the main clause "we stayed inside."
2 · "In the pot" and "on the windowsill" both start with a preposition and end with a noun, so there are 2.
While Mia was riding the bus, her flute fell out of the bag. · Putting Mia inside the riding part makes her the rider, so the phrase no longer describes the flute.