Grammar and syntax can be tricky if concepts and ideas are not understood, starting with the most basic. Many people find it difficult to analyze complex sentences because they have doubts in the base and in the basic concepts.
One of the first things you should learn to differentiate is phrases and sentences. Do you know what characteristics each one has? Could you distinguish them? Then, in the following oneHOWTO article we will explain what is the difference between phrase and sentence.
What is a phrase
When we speak of phrases we refer to a series of words that together constitute a meaning. However, lacking a verb conjugated in a personal way, this sense will never be complete, but you will need other phrases and sentences to be able to express a complete idea.
Since the words phrase and sentence are often used synonymously, below we will explain what a sentence is and we will explain the difference between phrase and sentence so that you can distinguish between them.
What is a sentence
Unlike the phrase, the sentence is a syntactically autonomous word or set of words, that is, that makes complete sense. Although this meaning does not have to be precise or exact, it does have to exist. For an idea to be complete and to function independently, that is, for it to be a sentence, it must be able to be taken out of context and still continue to communicate.
From a syntactic point of view, the sentence is the smallest fragment of speech.
What is the difference between phrase and sentence
There are two types of sentences: sentences and phrases, also called non-sentence sentences. The difference between the two is that while the sentences have a complete and autonomous meaning, the sentences do not.
Many people believe that what really differentiates the phrase and the sentence is that in sentences there is a verb conjugated in personal form. In sentences there may be verbs in the gerund or participle forms, but never in personal forms. Although this is true and can be a good way to differentiate phrases and sentences, from a technical point of view it is not correct.
Here are some examples of each one so that you understand more about the difference between phrase and sentence:
Examples of Sentences
- Juan drives a car
- My sister bought a book
- Miguel studied at night
- I lived in italy
- I win!
As we can see, all these phrases have a complete and autonomous sense, they consist of predicate and subject -even if it is elided- and the verb is in a personal form.
Examples of sentences
- Good evening!
- How funny!
- Death of love
- Ladies first
- Ladies and gentlemen!
Exercises to differentiate phrases and sentences
The best way to learn to differentiate sentences and phrases is to practice. Here is a list of examples so that, with the information we have given you, you can separate the following statements between phrases and sentences:
- If it rains today we will get wet
- Be quiet!
- The wind blew strong yesterday
- Die or kill
- Help!
- Bye!
- Come here!
- It’s me
- The bread tastes good
- What heat!
- When will you return?
- Live singing
- Juan sings very well
- Is there light there?
- Children first
- No smoking
- Maria cried all afternoon
If you have more questions about the language and grammar, in OneHOW you will find numerous articles such as the difference between meaning and signifier and the difference between lexeme and morpheme.
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