The Phrase: Missing a subject or a verb, but as a collection of words, has meaning potential.
Examples: The dog with the ball. From there, they went to the park.
The Clause: a subject and a verb (often also includes phrases and words that modify the subject and verb).
Examples: He [subj] ran [verb]. She [subj] jumped [verb] up and down [adverbial phrase]. They [subj] jumped [verb] high [adverb] before stopping for a break [prepositional phrase].
The Independent Clause: It forms a complete sentence and thought, but can have other words, phrases, or clauses that modify it.
Examples: He ran. They jumped high before stopping for a break.
The Dependent Clause: It has a subject and a verb, but it needs an independent clause to complete the thought.
Example: While they were tired, they were able to muster enough energy to complete the task.
Sentences: An independent clause or a combination of independent and dependent clauses.
Examples: [any of the examples for independent clause or the full sentence for dependent clause example]
Using phrases and clauses to change up your sentences gets us in the realm of sentence types.