What's the Difference between a Clause and a Phrase?

Answer 1

A phrase is a meaningful unit of words that lacks a subject, a predicate, or both. "Cat dog wall" is NOT a phrase because it is meaningless. "To the dog" IS a phrase because it is meaningful. However, it has neither a subject nor a predicate. "The fat calico cat" is a phrase containing a subject ("cat") but no predicate. (You can study much more about the various kinds of phrases, but I think this gives you the idea.)

A clause contains both a subject and a predicate, and the predicate must contain at least one verb that shows tense. Therefore, "Sam ran" is an example of the shortest clause you could have. "Sam running" is not a clause because "running" by itself does not show tense. Of course, most clauses have subjects and predicates that are modified. Example: "The boy named Sam is running quickly." (Note that the addition of "is" gave the verb in the clause tense.)

Answer 2

phrase (plural phrases)

A short written or spoken expression.
(grammar) A word or group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence, usually consisting of a head, or central word, and elaborating words. In the noun phrase the big bird, for example, the noun, bird is the head.
(music) A small section of music in a larger piece

clause (plural clauses)

(colloquial): A group of two or more words which include a subject and any necessary predicate (the predicate also includes a verb, conjunction, or a preposition to begin the clause, however this clause is not considered a sentence for colloquial purposes.
(grammar) A word or group of words ordinarily consisting of a subject and a predicate. In some languages and types of clauses, the subject may not appear explicitly. One clause may be coordinated with or embedded in another within a single sentence.
(law) A separate part of a contract, a will or another legal document.

Answer 3

Clauses have a verb or verbs

Be careful ...there are different kinds of clauses...some can stand alone and make sense. Others can not and need another clause to be a complete sentence.