Question

is the group of words in bold a phrase or a clause? the champion didnt expect the challenger to be such a formidable opponent, but despite his small size, the challenger possessed brute strength. phrase clause

Explanation:

A clause must have a subject and a predicate (a verb - expressing action or state). In the bolded group "the challenger possessed brute strength", "the challenger" is the subject, and "possessed brute strength" contains the verb "possessed" and expresses what the subject did, so it has a subject - predicate structure, making it a clause. A phrase lacks a subject - predicate structure.

Answer:

clause