What does a child have to do to distinguish a phrase and clause in the 11+?

Decide whether a group of words contains a clause and identify its role. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the grammar strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ distinguish a phrase and clause question?

Length decides nothing. "She waited" is a clause in two words, while "in the middle of the night" is six words and still only a phrase. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What is not part of distinguish a phrase and clause in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Excludes joining clauses. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside distinguish a phrase and clause?

The grammar strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to distinguish a phrase and clause are maintain consistent tense, match subject and verb and order sentence elements. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise distinguish a phrase and clause for free?

Use Clause Builder, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to distinguish a phrase and clause, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

English · Grammar

Distinguish a phrase and clause

Decide whether a group of words contains a clause and identify its role.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Phrase or Clause?

This video shows how to tell a phrase from a clause and work out what the group of words does in its sentence. Watch an 11+ English question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:36

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

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Quick quiz: Distinguish a phrase and clause

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.before the first frost
- B.while the tide was still out
- C.if the quarry is reopened
- D.as the beam swept the field
Question 2
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.if the tide turns
- B.as the moorland had been burned
- C.once the track had been resurfaced
- D.full of broken shells
Question 3
Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense?
- A.once the lock gates were opened
- B.creeping along the hedge line
- C.to explain the missing pages
- D.hoping for a drier afternoon
Question 4
Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense?
- A.balanced on a single narrow wheel
- B.since the previous summer
- C.once the storm had blown out
- D.after the second attempt
Question 5
Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense?
- A.before dark
- B.as the ice on the pond thinned
- C.before the tide at the causeway
- D.after the second attempt
Question 6
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.while the tide was still out
- B.since the reservoir was drained
- C.drifting past the harbour mouth
- D.since the road was closed for repairs
Question 7
Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense?
- A.before the caretaker locked up
- B.searching the shed for a dry match
- C.shivering along the cold touchline
- D.to reach the summit before sunset
Question 8
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.to keep the gulls off the roof
- B.since the kiln was relit
- C.if the sluice is raised
- D.because the pump had seized
Question 9
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.after the kettle had boiled dry
- B.once the ferry had been repainted
- C.resting against the churchyard wall
- D.as the beam swept the field
Question 10
Which group of words has no finite verb (a verb that shows tense)?
- A.since the footbridge was rebuilt
- B.until the very last minute
- C.whenever the crossing sticks
- D.while the sheep were being counted

Practise it now

Build a sentence that can stand up. Drag two bricks onto the plate.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Worked example: Phrase or clause?

Worked example: Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense?

whenever the printer jams
with a torn sail
a jar of loose buttons
underneath a heap of tarpaulins

Answer: whenever the printer jams

How you get there

A finite verb shows tense. Non-finite clauses have verbs that do not show tense. In "whenever the printer jams", the subject "the printer" has the tensed verb "jams". This group contains a finite clause. Compare the other groups: in "with a torn sail", this only says what something has; there is no verb; in "a jar of loose buttons", this only names a thing; there is no verb; in "underneath a heap of tarpaulins", this only says where; there is no verb.

Why the other answers tempt

Length decides nothing. "She waited" is a clause in two words, while "in the middle of the night" is six words and still only a phrase.

If they are stuck, say this

A finite verb shows tense, such as walked or walks. Look for a verb like this. Non-finite clauses also exist, but their verbs do not show tense.

Now do it live in Clause Builder

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's have a go at Distinguish a phrase and clause together. Here comes the question: Worked example: Which group of words contains a finite clause, with a subject and a verb that shows tense? Before we race ahead, let us choose one good first step. Here is a helpful clue: Non-finite clauses also exist, but their verbs do not show tense. Nice work. Now let us follow the thinking: Compare the other groups: in "with a torn sail", this only says what something has; there is no verb; in "a jar of loose buttons", this only names a thing; there is no verb; in "underneath a heap of tarpaulins", this only says where; there is no verb. So our answer is: whenever the printer jams. There is one sneaky trap to watch for: Length decides nothing. "She waited" is a clause in two words, while "in the middle of the night" is six words and still only a phrase. Can you show me that first move again in your own words? Brilliant. No rush; we are practising a method you can reuse, not trying to win a speed contest.

What this exercise is doing

Clause Builder

Build a sentence that can stand up. Drag two bricks onto the plate.

A main clause has a subject and a verb and makes complete sense on its own, so it can stand up by itself. A subordinate clause starts with a word like "because", "when" or "although" - it leans on a main clause and topples over without one. Two subordinate clauses have nothing to lean on, and two main clauses cannot simply be pushed together: they need a conjunction or a full stop between them.

What to say if they get stuck

Try putting a plugged brick on the plate all by itself and see what happens to it.
Bricks with a plug on the left are subordinate clauses: "because", "when", "although". They have to lean on something.
Every sentence needs exactly one brick that makes sense on its own - a main clause.

Open Clause Builder on its own page to share it

How distinguish a phrase and clause differs from the skills beside it

The same exercise practises one other skill, and telling them apart is often the difficulty rather than the exercise itself. On this page the skill is: decide whether a group of words contains a clause and identify its role, and it stops where excludes joining clauses.

Order sentence elements
Arrange supplied words into one grammatical sentence. Meaning and punctuation are fixed unless explicitly targeted.

Related english skills

Classify a word in contextIdentify the grammatical function of one highlighted word in its sentence.
Complete a finite clauseComplete one clause with an explicit subject and a finite verb.
Distinguish contraction and possessionChoose between a possessive form and a contraction in one sentence.
Maintain consistent tenseChoose a verb form that preserves the intended tense sequence.
Match subject and verbChoose a verb form that agrees with its true subject.
Select a clause connectorChoose a conjunction or connective matching the stated relationship.
Select a pronoun formChoose the pronoun form that fits its grammatical role.

All english 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about distinguish a phrase and clause

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Decide whether a group of words contains a clause and identify its role. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the grammar strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: Length decides nothing. "She waited" is a clause in two words, while "in the middle of the night" is six words and still only a phrase. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. A finite verb shows tense, such as walked or walks. Look for a verb like this. Non-finite clauses also exist, but their verbs do not show tense.
: The skill map draws the line here: Excludes joining clauses. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The grammar strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to distinguish a phrase and clause are maintain consistent tense, match subject and verb and order sentence elements. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Clause Builder, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to distinguish a phrase and clause, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are four different problems

A free diagnostic separates them, so practice goes where the gap actually is rather than on whichever one is easiest to set.