Difference between a Phrase, a Clause, and a Modifier
Mainly in the titles and classifications applied, written English prose varies greatly from spoken English prose. In this instance, a logical grouping of words that does not contain a subject or a verb is called a phrase. The logical arrangement of words that does contain a subject and a verb is called a clause. A modifier, though, can verify, quantify, qualify, or even in some way limit; this can be a word, a phrase or as much as an entire clause. Let’s see what these terms mean . . . .
Consider this sentence:
Since he surely would rather remain safe in order to retain consciousness, the activist with that flamboyant sign had better remain conscious of that group of teenagers aggressively coming toward him.
In the first sentence, that introductory clause, "Since he surely would rather remain safe," contains a subject, "he," and a verb, "would," this grouping of words falls into the clause classification. However, that introductory conjunction "since" notes more definition to the sentence, making this a dependent clause.
Note how these other adverbs could be used interchangeably:
Because
Considering that
For
Inasmuch as
As
Or any other synonym of these adverbs posted above. Likewise, to turn these clauses around as such:
The activist with that flamboyant sign had better remain conscious of that group of teenagers aggressively coming toward him since he surely would rather remain safe in order to retain consciousness.
Furthermore, notice or discuss how, with the use of these stronger subsitutes for "since", these sentences can be separated. Consider how these other adverbs could be used in exchange for "since" and still retain the same meaning while also creating a separate sentence:
Therefore
Correspondingly
As a consequence
Consequently
Accordingly
(as in, ‘The activist with that flamboyant sign had better remain conscious of that group of teenagers aggressively coming toward him. Accordingly, he surely would rather remain safe in order to retain consciousness.’ Sound these out with all those other words)
Or any other synonym pertaining. No doubt, a single word can change the meaning of a sentence entriely. Or can it?
Getting back to the grammar here, we have not even touched on the Modifier yet. A modifier is the limiting factor of the sentence, the adjective or adverb that alters the meaning of a noun, pronoun, or verb. Now compare these sentences:
Since he surely would rather remain safe in order to retain consciousness, the activist with that flamboyant sign had better remain conscious of that group of teenagers aggressively coming toward him.
That activist had better remain conscious.
Now pick out the abundance of modifiers.
In the case of the Dangling Modfier, or the dangling participle, notice the difference between these examples:
Walking along the harrowing alleyway of homeless Skid Row, the trees actually appeared the most healthy and vibrant of the entire town.
I noticed that the trees actually appeared the most healthy and vibrant of the entire town while walking along the harrowing alleyway of homeless Skid Row.
Grammatically, in the first sentence, the subject of this sentence, the trees, seems the ony to noun to attach to the participle, "Walking along." This is an example of a Dangling Modifier. Surely, the unwritten "I" of the first sentence may be expected to be understood, and we are all trained to use the fewest words possible in order to get directly to the point and be brief, but 26 words as opposed to 22 words in this case permits much more clarity and allows less room for misinterpretation. So Dangling Modifiers are better avoided in order to allow a smoother flow and greater clarity to the sentence.
