The correct answer is:
C) A dependent clause cannot stand alone in a sentence, but a phrase can.
However, it's important to clarify that a phrase itself cannot stand alone as a complete sentence—this is likely a misunderstanding in option C as it's somewhat misleading. More accurately, a dependent clause cannot stand alone (it depends on an independent clause to make sense), whereas a phrase is simply a group of words that does not have a subject-verb pairing.
To further elaborate:
- A phrase might be something like "under the table" or "after the movie," which doesn't express a complete thought.
- A dependent clause might be "because I was late," which also does not express a complete thought by itself and requires an independent clause (like "I missed the bus") to form a complete sentence.
Please let me know if you need more clarification or information!