Phrase and Clause

Comparison
Definitions
A clause is defined as a group of related words that contains a subject and predicate (verb).
e.g. he came.

A phrase is defined as a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb.
e.g. on the table.

Consider the following example.
He is laughing at a joker.

The above sentence has two parts “he is laughing” and “at a joker”.

The first part of the sentence “he is laughing” is a clause because it has a subject (he) and a predicate (is laughing).
The second part of the sentence “at a joker” is a phrase because it does not contain subject and verb.
The difference between a clause and a phrase is that a clause consists of both subject and verb, but a phrase lacks a subject and verb.

Examples.
The underlined part of each of following sentences shows a clause, while the rest part (non-underlined) of each sentence shows a phrase.
He reached school in time.
I was standing near a wall.
They are singing in a loud voice.
She made tea for the guests.
He a bought a book for his friend.
I will meet him in my office.
You look handsome in this picture.
Clause

Clause
“A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate”
For example, he laughed.
A clause refers to a group of related words (within a sentence or itself as an independent sentence) which has both subject and predicate.

Example
I will meet him in office.

The part of above sentence “I will meet him” is a clause because it has a subject(I) and a predicate(will meet him). On the other hand, the rest part of above sentence “in office” lacks both subject and predicate(verb) such group of word is called phrase.
A clause may stand as a simple sentence or may join another clause to make a sentence. Therefore, a sentence consists of one, two or more clauses.

Examples.
• He is sleeping. (one clause)
• The kids were laughing at the joker. (one clause)
• The teacher asked a question, but no one answered. (two clauses)
• I am happy, because I won a prize. (two clauses)
• I like Mathematics, but my brother likes Biology,
because he wants to become a doctor. (three clauses)
Clauses are divided into main clause (also called independent clause) and subordinate clause (also called dependent clauses).
Phrase

Phrase
“A phrase is defined as a group of related words that lacks both subject and verb.”
A phrase is a part of a sentence. It is a group of words (within a sentence) that does not contain both subject and verb, and does not express a complete idea.
Example.
He is standing near a wall.

The part of above sentence “near a wall” is a phrase because it does not contain subject and verb, and does not express a complete idea.
A phrase does not include both subject and verb at a same time and does not make a complete sense, hence a phrase cannot stand as a sentence on its own.

If a group of words include both subject and verb then it becomes a clause, so the difference in a clause and a phrase is that a clause contains subject and verb but a phrase does not contain subject and verb.
Here are some examples of phrases.

He is laughing at a joker.
She is making tea for the guests.
I saw a girl with blue eyes.
He always behaves in a strange way.
The boy in the red shirt is my cousin.
The boy, with a book in his hand, won a prize.
A sentence may consist of one or more phrases.

For example, The boy in the red shirt behaves in a strange way.
A phrase functions as a noun, adverb, or adjective in a sentence, therefore a phrase is also defined as “a group of words (lacking subject and verb), that functions as a single part of speech, in a sentence.”
Examples
He is wearing a nice read shirt. (as a noun/object)
The people at the party were dancing. (as a noun/subject)
The man in the room is our teacher. (as adjective, modifies noun man)
She gave me a glass full of water. (as adjective, modifies noun glass)
He always behaves in a strange way. (as adverb, modifies verb behave)
He returned in a short while. (as adverb, modifies verb return)

On the basis of their functions and constructions, phrases are divided into various types i.e. noun phrase, verb phrase, adverb phrase, adjective phrase, appositive phrase, infinite phrase, participle phrase and gerund phrase.