Sentence vs Phrase

A sentence is a group of words that tells a complete idea. A phrase is a group of words that does not tell a complete idea on its own.

What You'll Learn

How to tell the difference between a sentence and a phrase
How to check if a group of words has a subject and a verb
How to spot a phrase that is missing a subject, a verb, or both

When to Use

Checking your writing: "The boy eats his lunch." (This is a sentence because it has a subject and a verb and makes sense on its own.)
Spotting incomplete ideas: "the big red ball" (This is a phrase because there is no verb. It does not tell you what the ball does.)
Finding missing parts: "running very fast" (This is a phrase because there is no subject. It does not tell you who is running.)
Building better sentences: "on the table" is a phrase. You can turn it into a sentence: "The book is on the table."

How to Form

What Makes a Sentence

A sentence must have three things:

Must Have	What It Means	Example
A subject	who or what the sentence is about	The cat sleeps.
A verb	what the subject does or is	The cat sleeps.
A complete idea	it makes sense on its own	The cat sleeps. (Yes, this makes sense!)

What Makes a Phrase

A phrase is a group of words that is missing one or more of these parts.

What Is Missing	Example Phrase	Why It Is a Phrase
No verb	the tall boy	There is no doing word or being word
No subject	running in the park	We do not know who is running
No subject or verb	under the big tree	There is no one doing anything

Turning a Phrase into a Sentence

You can fix a phrase by adding the missing part.

Phrase	What Is Missing	Add the Missing Part	Complete Sentence
the small kitten	verb	add a verb	The small kitten sleeps.
eating an apple	subject	add a subject	The girl is eating an apple.
in the classroom	subject and verb	add both	The children are in the classroom.
my favourite toy	verb	add a verb	My favourite toy is a teddy bear.

Key Rules

A sentence has a subject and a verb: A sentence always tells you who or what and what they do or are. "The bird sings." has a subject (the bird) and a verb (sings).
A phrase does not make sense by itself: If you read a group of words and it feels unfinished, it is probably a phrase. "A bowl of soup" leaves you wondering — what about the soup?
A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark: "My sister reads a book." starts with a capital M and ends with a full stop.
A phrase can be part of a sentence: The phrase "at the playground" is not a sentence by itself, but it can be part of one: "We played at the playground."

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
The pretty flowers in the garden.	The pretty flowers grow in the garden.	This group of words has no verb, so it is only a phrase
Was playing with his friends.	Tom was playing with his friends.	This group of words has no subject, so we do not know who was playing
A sentence: under the chair	A phrase: under the chair	"Under the chair" has no subject and no verb, so it is a phrase, not a sentence
A phrase: The dog barks loudly.	A sentence: The dog barks loudly.	"The dog barks loudly" has a subject and a verb, so it is a sentence

Clue Words

Words that help you find the subject:

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, the boy, the girl, my mother, the teacher, Ali, Mei Ling

Words that help you find the verb:

is, am, are, was, were, has, have, run, eat, play, sleep, read, sit, jump, write

Common phrases (not sentences):

a cup of water, in the morning, on the table, the big brown dog, running very fast, near the school

Tip: Read the words and ask two questions: "Who or what?" and "What does it do?" If you can answer both, it is a sentence. If you cannot, it is a phrase.

Practice Tips

The two-question test: For every group of words, ask "Who or what?" (subject) and "What does it do?" (verb). If both answers are there, it is a sentence. If one is missing, it is a phrase.
Try adding a full stop: Read the words as if they are a finished idea. Does it feel complete? "The cat is sleeping." feels complete. "The cat on the sofa" feels like something is missing.
Fix the phrase: When you find a phrase, practise turning it into a sentence by adding the missing subject or verb. "Under the bed" becomes "The slippers are under the bed."

Quick Reference

Type	Has a Subject?	Has a Verb?	Complete Idea?	Example
Sentence	Yes	Yes	Yes	The boy runs to school.
Phrase	Maybe	Maybe	No	the boy in the blue shirt
Phrase	No	Yes	No	eating a banana
Phrase	Yes	No	No	my best friend Sarah
Phrase	No	No	No	at the hawker centre

Sentence vs Phrase (P2) (Primary 2)