Free Phrase or Clause Checker
A clause contains both a subject and a verb. A phrase is a group of related words that doesn't have both. This checker scans your sentences, identifies the grammatical units inside them, and labels each as a phrase or a clause. To verify whether a unit forms a complete sentence, also try our Fragment or Sentence Checker.
Breakdown
How the Phrase or Clause Checker Works
The checker breaks each sentence into its grammatical units by detecting commas, subordinating conjunctions, and prepositional phrases. Each unit is then analyzed for the presence of a subject-verb pair. Units with both = clauses. Units without = phrases.
Rules & Best Practices
1Clauses have a subject and a verb
'She walked home.' (subject: she, verb: walked.) That's a clause. 'In the red hat' is just a phrase — no subject-verb pair.
2Phrases function as parts of speech
Prepositional phrases ('in the morning'), participial phrases ('running quickly'), and infinitive phrases ('to win') all modify other parts of a sentence.
3Dependent clauses can't stand alone
'When the rain stopped' is a clause (subject: rain, verb: stopped) but it's dependent — it needs an independent clause to be a complete sentence.
4Independent clauses can stand alone
'She left' is an independent clause — it's a complete sentence on its own.
Polish Your Writing
Combine grammar checks with our Character Counter and Word Counter for a full text analysis — counts, frequency, and structure.
📊Open Character Counter