Which is a clause? "a very interesting book" "eating ice cream" "the orange and white cat" "when the moon rises"

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A **clause** is a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate (a verb). There are two main types of clauses:

1. **Independent Clause**: Can stand alone as a complete sentence.
2. **Dependent (Subordinate) Clause**: Cannot stand alone and depends on an independent clause to provide complete meaning.

Let's analyze each of the provided options:

1. **"a very interesting book"**
   - **Type**: Noun Phrase
   - **Explanation**: This phrase functions as a noun but does not contain a subject and a predicate.

2. **"eating ice cream"**
   - **Type**: Gerund Phrase
   - **Explanation**: This is a verbal phrase acting as a noun, containing a gerund ("eating") and its object ("ice cream"). It does not have a subject performing the action.

3. **"the orange and white cat"**
   - **Type**: Noun Phrase
   - **Explanation**: This phrase serves as a noun phrase describing a cat but lacks a verb or predicate.

4. **"when the moon rises"**
   - **Type**: Dependent (Subordinate) Clause
   - **Explanation**: 
     - **Subject**: "the moon"
     - **Predicate**: "rises"
     - **Function**: This clause begins with the subordinating conjunction "when," making it dependent on an independent clause to form a complete sentence (e.g., "When the moon rises, the stars become visible.").

**Conclusion:**  
**"When the moon rises"** is the clause among the options provided because it contains both a subject ("the moon") and a predicate ("rises") and functions as a dependent clause in a sentence.
"when the moon rises" is a clause because it has a subject and a predicate.

Which is a clause? "a very interesting book" "eating ice cream" "the orange and white cat" "when the moon rises"

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