A clause is defined as a group of related words that contains a subject and predicate (verb).
e.g. he came.
A phrase is defined as a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb.
e.g. on the table.
Consider the following example.
He is laughing at a joker.
The above sentence has two parts “he is laughing” and “at a joker”.
The first part of the sentence “he is laughing” is a clause because it has a subject (he) and a predicate (is laughing).
The second part of the sentence “at a joker” is a phrase because it does not contain subject and verb.
The difference between a clause and a phrase is that a clause consists of both subject and verb, but a phrase lacks a subject and verb.
Examples.
The underlined part of each of following sentences shows a clause, while the rest part (non-underlined) of each sentence shows a phrase.
He reached school in time.
I was standing near a wall.
They are singing in a loud voice.
She made tea for the guests.
He a bought a book for his friend.
I will meet him in my office.
You look handsome in this picture.