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English•SHS Lexis & Structure

Sentence structure & clauses

Senior High 6 questions
AI-drafted from platform data — specialist review scheduledBy DigiTransact Mastermind editorial teamLast updated
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What sentence structure & clauses means

You learn how words form phrases, clauses and full sentences. This helps you read carefully and write clear, correct English in exams and classwork.

What you will practise

  • Spot phrases that do not have both subject and verb
  • Identify clauses with a subject and a verb
  • Tell main clauses from subordinate clauses
  • Recognise simple, compound and complex sentences
  • Use punctuation clues to support your answers

Before you start

You should already know basic parts of speech, especially nouns, verbs and conjunctions. It also helps if you can read short sentences with understanding.

Not confident yet? Work through Word formation & register first.

Worked example

One question from this skill's own question bank, shown with its full working.

Question

A group of words with a subject and a verb is a:

  • phrase
  • clause
  • prefix
  • syllable
Answer: clause

Working: A clause contains a subject and a verb; a phrase does not.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Treating every group of words as a clause. Check for both a subject and a verb first.
  • Calling a dependent group a complete sentence. See whether it can stand alone before naming it.
  • Mixing up phrases and clauses. A phrase has no subject-verb pair, but a clause does.
  • Missing the joining word in compound sentences. Look for two main clauses linked by a coordinator.

Curriculum and exam alignment

Ghana GES SHS syllabusWASSCE

In SHS 1-3, this area normally appears under syntax or sentence construction in English language work. It also supports WASSCE preparation, where you are often expected to recognise clause types and sentence patterns accurately.

Curriculum notes are a general guide to where this work normally sits. Always check the syllabus your school or examination body is currently using.

Related skills

Other SHS Lexis & Structure skills in English, at the same point in the course.

Other English topics

Early Reading and WritingSHS English and LiteratureAcademic and Professional WritingGrammarVocabularyReading Comprehension

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Exams that assess sentence structure & clauses

Senior High work on this skill feeds directly into these exam papers. Each page lists the English topics that appear on it.

WASSCEWASSCE practice questionsFree WASSCE practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.GESGES practice questionsFree GES practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.BECEBECE practice questionsListed as a related subject on the BECE practice page.

How this page was produced

This text was drafted with AI assistance from the questions and topics already stored on the platform. A subject-specialist review is scheduled but has not yet been recorded, so we do not claim it here.

Written by
DigiTransact Mastermind editorial team
Human review
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Practise sentence structure & clauses

6 questions with a worked answer after every attempt, and a SmartScore that tracks how close you are to mastery.

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