Is "Rolling down the hill" a clause or a phrase? How do you know?
"Rolling down the hill" is a phrase.
A clause has a subject and a verb and can function as a complete thought or a sentence on its own. In this case, "rolling" is a verb form and does not have a subject. Therefore, it cannot be a clause.
On the other hand, a phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject and a verb and cannot stand alone as a sentence. "Rolling down the hill" is a group of words that functions as a noun phrase or a participial phrase, modifying another part of the sentence.
"Rolling down the hill" is a phrase.
A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and can function as a standalone sentence. In this case, "rolling" is a participle acting as a verb, while "down the hill" acts as a prepositional phrase modifying the verb. So, "Rolling down the hill" does not contain a subject and a verb combination, making it a phrase rather than a clause.
To determine whether "Rolling down the hill" is a clause or a phrase, we need to understand what each of these terms means.
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. It can stand alone as a sentence or be part of a larger sentence.
A phrase, on the other hand, is a group of words that functions as a single part of speech, but it does not contain both a subject and a predicate.
In the case of "Rolling down the hill," we need to identify if it contains both a subject and a predicate.
First, let's identify the verb or predicate. The verb in this case is "rolling." Now, we need to identify the subject. In this phrase, the subject is not explicitly stated, but it is implied to be the thing doing the action of rolling, which is likely to be "someone" or "he" or "she."
So, based on the presence of a verb (rolling) and an implied subject (someone, he, or she), we can conclude that "Rolling down the hill" is a clause because it contains both a subject and a predicate.