The elements of grammar

The elements of grammar
Dependent clause
A dependent clause (also embedded clause, subordinate clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. In itself, a dependent clause does not express a complete thought; therefore, it is usually attached to an independent clause. Although a dependent clause contains a subject and a predicate, it sounds incomplete when standing alone. Some grammarians use the term subordinate clause as a synonym for dependent clause, but in the majority of grammars, subordinate clause refers only to adverbial dependent clauses.
Independent clause
An independent clause (or main clause, matrix clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a grammatically viable simple sentence. Independent clauses express a complete thought and contain a subject and a predicate. Multiple independent clauses can be joined by using a semicolon or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Run-on sentence
A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses (that is, complete sentences) are joined with absolutely no punctuation or conjunction. It is generally considered to be a grammatical error. Some grammarians also include a comma splice, in which two independent clauses are joined with a comma, as a type of run-on sentence, while others exclude comma splices from the definition of a run-on sentence.
A run-on sentence does not mean a sentence is too long; longer sentences are likely to be run-ons only when they contain more than one complete idea. A run-on sentence can be as short as four words—for instance: I drive she walks. In this case there are two complete ideas (independent clauses): two subjects paired with two (intransitive) verbs. So long as clauses are punctuated appropriately, a writer can assemble multiple independent clauses in a single sentence; in fact, a properly constructed sentence can be extended indefinitely.
Comma splice
A comma splice is a sentence in which two independent clauses are joined by a comma with no conjunction. For example:
:It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.
It is usually considered an error in both British and American English (though it is acceptable in some other languages, such as French or German). It is condemned in The Elements of Style, a popular American English style guide by E.B. White and William Strunk, Jr.
Grammarians differ as to whether a comma splice also constitutes a run-on sentence. Some define run-on sentences to include comma splices, but others limit the term to strictly mean those in which independent clauses are joined without any punctuation, thereby excluding comma splices.
Phrase
In grammar, a phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.
For example the house at the end of the street (example 1) is a phrase. It acts like a noun. It contains the phrase at the end of the street (example 2), a prepositional phrase which acts like an adjective. Example 2 could be replaced by white, to make the phrase the white house. Examples 1 and 2 contain the phrase the end of the street (example 3) which acts like a noun. It could be replaced by the cross-roads to give the house at the cross-roads.
Most phrases have a or central word which defines the type of phrase. This word is called the head of the phrase. Some phrases, however, can be headless. For example, the rich is a noun phrase composed of a determiner and an adjective, but no noun.
Phrases may be classified by the type of head they take
*Prepositional phrase (PP) with a preposition as head (e.g. in love, over the rainbow). Languages that use postpositions instead have postpositional phrases. The two types are sometimes commonly referred to as adpositional phrases.
*Noun phrase (NP) with a noun as head (e.g. the black cat, a cat on the mat)
*Verb phrase (VP) with a verb as head (e.g. eat cheese, jump up and down)
*Adjectival phrase (AP) with an adjective as head (e.g. full of toys)
*Adverbial phrase (AdvP) with an adverb as head (e.g. very carefully)

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