Noun Clauses: Definition, Examples, &

Exercises
Dependent clauses add meaning to independent clauses in a variety of ways by acting like
adjectives, adverbs, or nouns. 
Relative clauses are dependent clauses that modify or give more information about a noun in the
independent clause.
For example: 
 Scar, who was Simba’s jealous and wicked uncle, threatened to take over Pride Rock. 
The dependent relative clause, who was Simba’s jealous and wicked uncle, modifies or gives more
information about the noun subject of the independent clause, Scar. 
Additionally, adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that modify or give more information about a
verb in the independent clause.
For example: 
 When Timon and Pumba first meet Simba, they are afraid that Simba might eat them. 
The dependent adverbial clause, when Timon and Pumba first meet Simba, explains when they are
afraid, modifying the verb in the independent clause.
Lastly, noun clauses are dependent clauses that can replace any noun in the sentence.
For example: 
 Rafiki encouraged Simba to remember who he was. 
In this sentence, the noun clause, who he was, is acting as an indirect object of the
verb, encouraged. 
For this post, we will focus on noun clauses, but you can learn more about adverbial and relative
clauses on the Albert blog.
When you’re ready, test yourself with a quiz  and practice with our high-quality, standards-aligned
questions here.
The Basics of Noun Clauses
What is a Noun Clause? 
A noun clause is a dependent clause that takes the place of any noun in the sentence, whether
they are subjects, objects, or subject complements.  
For example: 
 She was saddened by what she had read. 
In the sentence above, the noun clause what she had read is being used as the object of the
preposition by. 
This is only one example, as there are many different ways that noun clauses can be used. Review
the next section to learn every possible way that a noun clause can function in a sentence.
What are the five functions of noun clauses? 
1. Subject

Noun clauses can function as subjects of sentences. 

For example: 
 Why my pet turtle stares at me all day is beyond me. 
In the sentence above, the underlined noun clause acts as a single subject of the independent
clause.
2. Direct Object

Noun clauses can also function as direct objects of the verb in the independent clause. 
For example: 
 When my dog goes to doggy day care, I do not know what he does, but he always has the best time. 
In the sentence above, the noun clause what he does is acting as the direct object of the verb know.

3. Indirect Object

Noun clauses can also act as indirect objects of the verb in the independent clause. 
For example: 
 She chose to photograph whomever was willing to pose for her. 
In the sentence above, the direct object of the verb chose is the infinitive phrase to photograph. Just
like a noun clause, this infinitive phrase is acting like the noun direct object. Therefore, the noun
clause whomever was willing to pose for her is the indirect object of the same verb.
4. Object of the Preposition 

Other times, noun clauses can act as the object of a preposition in the independent clause. 
For example: 
 I like to keep a schedule of when I have upcoming appointments.  
In the sentence above, the noun clause when I have upcoming appointments is acting as the object of
the preposition of.
5. Subject Complement 

Lastly, noun clauses can act as subject complements, or nouns that follow linking verbs. 
For example:
 Actors can become whomever they want to be on the stage. 
In the sentence above, the noun clause whomever they want to be is the subject complement of the
linking verb become.
Tip #1. Noun Clauses can replace any noun in a sentence, including subjects,
objects, and complements
For example: 
 No one knows why she is afraid of lizards.
In the sentence above, the noun clause replaces the direct object of the verb, knows.
Tip #2. Noun clauses are not modifiers; they are placeholders
For example:
 Noun Clause (acting as a subject): When she will arrive is dependent on traffic. 
 Adverbial Clause (acting as an adverb): When she arrives, we will eat dinner. 
As you can see, it is easy to confuse these different types of dependent clauses with one another. If
you are unsure whether a clause is adverbial or nominal (noun), simply ask some questions:
 If the clause answers the question, “who?”  or “what?”, then it is a noun clause. 
 If the clause answers one of these questions: “where?”, “how?”, “when?”,  or “why?”, then it is
an adverbial clause.
This is the key distinction between noun clauses and relative or adverbial clauses. While relative
clauses and adverbial clauses modify nouns and verbs respectively, noun clauses replace nouns
altogether. 
Tip #3. Noun clauses always begin with either interrogative pronouns or
expletives
For example: 
 The pug did not know what would make his life any more perfect. 
The underlined clause in the sentence above begins with the interrogative pronoun, what, making it
a true noun clause that is acting as the direct object of the verb, know. 
Noun clauses can also begin with expletives (no, not cuss words!). In grammar, expletives are words
that have no grammatical function in a sentence other than to signal the start of a noun clause.
Common expletives are that, whether, and if. 
 As his humans drank their coffee, the pug wondered if they would all hike to the waterfall today. 
Even though the expletive if is necessary in understanding the noun clause, it still has no
grammatical purpose in the sentence other than to connect the noun clause to the verb wondered.

Noun Clauses Exercises and Review 

Now that you know how to identify noun clauses, test your ability to find these in sentences.
Select the noun clause(s) in the sentences below. Remember, a noun clause can replace any noun
in a sentence, but these clauses must answer the questions “who?” or “what?”, and they must start
with either an interrogative pronoun or an expletive.
1. No one from the outside world knew that Wakanda was so technologically advanced. 
In this sentence, that Wakanda was so technologically advanced is a noun clause taking the place of
the direct object of the verb, knew.
2. Kilmonger demanded to know why T’Challa refused to protect threatened people of African
descent. 
In this sentence, the noun clause why T’Challa refused to protect threatened people of African
descent is acting as the indirect object of the verb, demanded.
3. M’Baku decides to help T’Challa in repayment for when T’Challa chose not to take his life. 
In this sentence, when T’Challa chose not to take his life is a noun clause acting as the object of the
preposition, for.
4. When they meet on the battlefield, W’Kabi must decide whether to join his wife, Okoye, or to
continue to fight against T’Challa. 
In this sentence, whether to join his wife, Okoye, or to continue to fight against T’Challa is a noun
clause acting as the direct object of the verb, decide.
5. Whoever ingests the heart-shaped herb receives the superhuman power of vibranium. 
In this sentence, whoever ingests the heart-shaped herb is a noun clause acting as the subject of the
sentence. 
Pro tip: Remember, noun clauses can replace any noun in a sentence, and can function as subjects,
objects, or subject compliments.

Source : https://www.albert.io/blog/noun-clauses/

Pengertian Noun Clause
Noun clause adalah klausa dependen atau dependent clause yang berfungsi
sebagai noun (kata benda). Apa itu dependent clause? Merupakan sebuah klausa
yang tidak dapat berdiri sendiri sebagai kalimat yang utuh karena dependent
clause tidak menyampaikan pemikiran yang lengkap meskipun dia memilikki subyek
dan kata kerja. Sedangkan noun clause dapat berfungsi sebagai komponen kalimat
seperti: subject, object of verb, object of preposition, dan subject complement serta
dapat digantikan dengan pronoun it.

Bagaimana contoh penggunaan kalimat dengan noun clause?

1. The person whom I like has a pair of blue eyes. (Orang yang saya sukai
memilikki sepasang mata biru.)
2. A country which locates near Indonesia is Australia. (Sebuah negara yang
terletak di dekat Indonesia adalah Australia.)
3. The students listened to what the teachers said. (Para siswa mendengarkan
apa yang dikatakan oleh para guru.)
Masih bingung dengan noun clause? Mari kita jabarkan masing-masing kata dalam
kalimat sesuai dengan sifatnya.

 Noun: I bought a car.

  Pronoun: I bought it.
 Noun clause: The car that I bought is expensive.

Rumus Noun Clause
Noun clause dapat diawali oleh noun clause markers atau
subordinator berupa question word, if atau whether, dan that. Untuk lebih
jelasnya, mari lihat rumus penggunaan noun clause di bawah ini:

Noun Clause Marker Penjelasan

Question Word Question word yang digunakan pada noun clause yaitu

 What(ever)
 What (time, kind, day, etc)
 Who(ever)
 Whose
 Whom(ever)
 Which(ever)
 Where(ever)
 When(ever)
 How (long, far, many times, old, etc)

If/Whether Biasanya if atau whether digunakan untuk kalimat jawa

 dari pertanyaan yes-no question atau bentuk reported
speech dari pertanyaan tersebut.

That Biasanya that-clause untuk mental activity. Berikut

daftar verb pada main clause yang biasanya diikuti that
clause:

 Assume
 Believe
 Discover
 Dream
 Guess
 Hear
 Hope
 Know
 Learn
 Notice
 Predict
 Prove
 Realize
 Suppose
 Suspect
 Think

Contoh Kalimat Noun Clause

Question word
 What she cooked was delicious.
 I want to know how he was in real.
 There’s no reward for whoever finishes first.
 I listened carefully to what she said.
 The girl comes from where many people live in poverty.
If/Whether
A: Where does Andy live?

B: I wonder if he lives in West Jakarta.

 
A: Does Andy live on Banana Street?

B1: I don’t know if he lives on Banana Street or not.

B2: I don’t know whether or not he lives on Banana Street.

That
 That today is his birthday is not right.
 I think that the group will arrive in an hour.
 Many people had proved that the method was ineffective.
 Diana believes that her life will be happier.
 The fact is that more than a hundred million people live in the ten
largest cities in the world.
 We were worried that she couldn’t recover from the divorce.
Word Order pada Noun Clause
Word order (subject mendahului verb) digunakan pada kata yang diawali dengan
question word, meskipun bagian main clause berupa pertanyaan. Contoh:

 Can we imaagine how old he is?

 Will you explain where you went?
 I can imagine what the man said.
 No one knew whose chocolate was on the table.
Baca juga: Weekly Grammar: Jenis-jenis Pronoun

Reduced Non Clause

Hanya noun clause dengan subordinator “that” yang dapat direduksi. Namun
tidak untuk that-clause yang berada di awal kalimat yang berfungsi
sebagai subject. Contoh:

 I hope that he is doing well.

 My dream is that people will find a way to connect with the poor.
Tense Pada Noun Clause
Tense pada noun clause dan main clause mungkin seringkali berbeda. Di bawah
ini merupakan penjelasan kombinasi dan contoh kalimatnya.
Present tense + future tense
 I hope that the trip will be fun and
unforgettable. (Jika action/state pada noun clause dilakukan/terjadi
kemudian)
 Many dream that solar energy will fully replace fossil
fuels. (Jika action/state masih diprediksi akan terjadi di masa depan)
Present tense + present tense
 I guess that she is sleeping in the library now.
(Jika action/state pada noun clause dilakukan/terjadi pada saat yang
bersamaan dengan main clause)
 We know that atlantic salmon migrate to the ocean migrates to
the ocean to feed and grow. (Jika merupakan kebenaran umum atau
fakta)
Present tense + past tense
I think that the bread was baked three days ago. (Jika action/state telah
dilakukan/terjadi sebelum action/state pada klausa utama)
Past tense + future tense
The scientist believed that there will be a cure for
HIV. (Jika action/state pada noun clause masih diprediksi akan terjadi di masa
depan)
Past tense + present tense
 I discovered that creating a website is not
easy. (Jika action/state dilanjutkan sampai sekarang)
 The children learned that the earth is not square. (Jika action/state jika
merupakan kebenaran umum atau fakta)
Past tense + past future
The class assumed that the teacher would be late.
(Jika action/state dilakukan/terjadi kemudian)
Past tense + past tense
She supposed that her friend was walking to the post
office. (jika action/state dilakukan secara bersamaan dengan action/state pada
klausa utama)
 Past tense + past perfect
He heard that you had written a book. (Jika action/state pada noun
clause telah dilakukan/terjadi sebelum action/state pada main clause)

Noun clause adalah klausa yang berfungsi sebagai nomina. Noun clause juga digunakan atau memiliki
fungsi yang sama sebagai noun (kata benda).

Karena fungsinya sebagai nomina, maka noun clause dapat berfungsi sebagai: object verba transitif (object
of a transitive verb), subject kalimat (subject of a sentence), pelengkap (complement), object preposisi
(object of a preposition) dan pemberi keterangan tambahan (noun in apposition).

Noun clause diklasifikasikan menjadi 4 macam menurut jenis kalimatnya, yaitu: question (pertanyaan),
exclamation (seruan), request (permintaan), dan statement (pernyataan).
1. Question

Conjunction yang dipakai adalah whether (or no/or if). Fungsi Klausanya adalah :

a) Subjek Kalimat

 Can she drive the car? (Question)

 Whether she can drive the car doesn`t concern me. (Noun Clause)
b) Objek Kata Kerja

 I really wonder whether she can drive the car (or not).
c) Objek Kata Depan

 We discussed about whether she can drive the car.

d) Objek Pelengkap
 My question is whether she can drive the car.
2. Exclamation

Conjunction yang dipakai adalah “kata tanya yang dipakai pada kalimat itu sendiri”. Fungsi Klausanya
adalah :

a) Objek Kata Kerja

 What a handsome boy he is! (Exclamation)

 I never realize what a handsome boy he is. (Noun Clause)
 b) Objek Kata Depan
 We are talking about what a handsome boy he is.
3. Request

Conjunction yang dipakai adalah “that”. Fungsi Klausanya adalah:

a) Objek Kata Kerja

 Bring the map! (Request)
 He suggested that I bring the map. (Noun Clause)
4. Statement

Conjunction yang dipakai adalah “that”. Fungsi klausa ini sebagai :

a) Subjek Kalimat

 Orang Utan lives in Indonesia (statement)

 Te fact that Orang Utan lives in Indonesia is well known to all. (Noun Clause)
b) Objek Kalimat

 My conclusion is that Orang Utan lives in Indonesia.

c) Subjek Kalimat setelah “It”

 It is well known to all that Orang Utan lives in Indonesia.

d) Positif

 My conclusion is that Orang Utan lives in Indonesia.

e) Objek Kata Kerja
 All people understand well that Orang Utan lives in Indonesia.