Explain why all sentences are clauses, but not all clauses are sentences.

Question

Accepted Answer

Sentences and clauses have different characteristics.

A sentence is a grammatically complete unit of thought that expresses a complete idea.
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate but may not express a complete thought.
All sentences are classes because they have a subject and a predicate and express a complete thought.
Not all clauses are sentences because they may lack a subject or a predicate, or they may not express a complete thought.
For example, 'She is reading a book' is a sentence because it has a subject (she), a predicate (is reading), and expresses a complete thought.
On the other hand, 'Although she is reading a book' is a clause because it has a subject (she) and a predicate (is reading), but it does not express a complete thought.

Accepted Answer

All sentences are clauses because they have a subject and a verb and they make complete sense. But all clauses cannot be sentences as clauses are classified into dependent and independent. An independent clause makes complete sense as it can stand on its own whereas a dependent clause needs an independent clause to make it complete. So an independent clause becomes a sentence but a dependent clause cannot.

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Explain why all sentences are clauses, but not all clauses are sentences.

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