The Noun Clause

Week #4
Objectives: By the end of the course today, you are
expected to be able to:
1. Identify the function of a noun
clause
2. Differentiate a noun clause from a
question
3. Construct noun clauses beginning
with question words, whether or if,
infinitives, and that.
 • A Noun Clause is a group of words
which contains a Subject and a
predicate of its own, and does the
What a Noun work of a Noun.
Clause is He talked about it. (Noun)
He talked about the plan. (Noun Phrase)
He talked about what he was going to
do. (Noun Clause)
The Various Since a noun clause does the work of a Noun in a complex sentence, it can be:
• an subject of a verb: What he said was true

Functions •
•
the subject complement.
the object of a transitive verb: I cannot describe what happened and how it happened

of a Noun •
•
the adjective complement: He is happy that he is learning English.
the direct object: The teacher teaches the students what they should do in emergency situations

Clause •
•
the object of infinitive: He went to fix what he had done.
the indirect object: Mrs. Scott assigned whoever was late extra homework.
• the object of gerund: Knowing where they went is essential.
• the object of preposition: Pay careful attention to what I am going to say.
• the object complement: My belief is that he will not come.
• an apposition of noun/pronoun: The problem, that the storm knocked out power, is affecting the
entire town.
 • How the buildings are constructed to keep
Let’s Identify their inhabitants cool is one of the most
striking aspects of the Bahraini architecture.
Noun Clause • What the doctor advised was a vacation away
Functions of the from the hustle and bustle of the city.
• When the city of Rome was actually founded is
Following a matter of dispute among historians.
Sentences • Marie Curie showed that a woman can be as
good a scientist as a man can be.
• The general decided which troops were to be
moved.
Various Forms of
Noun Clause
 • But before that, let’s refresh your mind
about constructing questions with
question words!
Noun Clause
Beginning with
Question Words
 1. Tom will be here (next week)
2. He is coming (because he wants to
Followings are 5 visit his fiends)
sentences. All you 3. He'll be on flight (645, not flight 742)
have to do is to make a 4. (Jim Hunter) is going to meet him at
question in which the the airport.
words in the bracket is
5. Jim Hunter is (his roommate)
the answer.
QUESTION NOUN CLAUSE In (a): where she lives is the object of the verb know. In a noun clause, the
Where does she live? (a) I don't know where she lives. subject precedes the verb. Do not use question word order in a noun
What did he say? (b) I couldn't hear what he said. clause.
When do they arrive? (c) Do you know when they arrive? Notice: does, did, and do are used in questions, but not in noun clauses.
See Appendix Unit B for more information about question words and
question forms

Who (S) lives (V) there? d) I don't know who (S) lives(V) there. In (d): The word order is the same in both the question and the noun clause
What (S) happened (V)? e) Please tell me what (S) happened (V). because who is the subject in both.
Who (S) is (V) at the door? f) I wonder who (S) is (V) at the door.

Who is (V) she (S)? g) I don't know who she (S) is (V). In (g): she is the subject of the question, so it is placed in front of the verb
Who are (V) those men (S)? h) I don't know who those men (S) are (V). be in the noun clause.*
Whose house is (V) that (S)? i) I wonder whose house that is.

What did she say? j) What she said surprised me. In (j): What she said is the subject of the sentence. Notice in (k): A noun
What should they do? k) What they should do is obvious. clause subject takes a singular verb (e.g., is)
Change the 1. (Where do you live?) Please tell
me____________
question in 2. (What did she say?)______________
wasn't true.
parentheses to a 3. (When are they coming?) Do you
noun clause. know ___________?
4. (How much does it cost?) I can't
remember ____________
5. (Which one does he want?) Let's ask
him____________
 • Now let’s check if you remember how
to construct a yes or no question first.
Make a yes/no questions from the
Noun Clause following sentences:
Beginning with 1. No, I don’t understand math.
2. Yes, she will come with her sister.
Whether or If 3. No, they can’t build a sky crapper.
4. Yes, we have already had our lunch.
5. No, he didn’t call me.
 When a yes/no question is changed
NOUN CLAUSE to a noun clause, whether or if is
YES/NO QUESTION a) I don't know whether she come. I used to introduce the clause. (Note:
Will she come? don't know if she will come. Whether is more acceptable in
Does he need help? b) I wonder whether he needs formal English, but if is quite
help. I wonder if he needs help. commonly used, especially in
speaking.)

c) I wonder whether or not she will come. In (c), (d), and (e): Notice the patterns
d) I wonder whether she will come or not. whether is used.
e) I wonder ifshe will come or not.

f) Whether she comes or not is In (f): Notice that the noun clause is in the
unimportant to me. subject position.
 Noun Clause Followed
by To-Infinitives
a) I don't know what I should
do.
b) I don't know what to do.
c) Pam can't decide whether she
should go or stay home.
d) Pam can't decide whether to
go or (to) stay home. Question words (when, where,
e) Please tell me how I can get how, who, whom, whose, what,
to the bus station. which) and whether may be
f) Please tell me how to get to followed by an infinitive. Each pair
the bus station. of sentences in the examples has
g) Jim told us where we could the same meaning. Notice that the
find it. meaning expressed by the infinitive
h) Jim told us where to find it. is either should or can/could
Extra Point 1.
2.
He told me when I should come.
The plumber told me how I could fix the
Time: Create leak in the sink.

sentences with 3.
4.
Please tell me where I should meet you.
Don had an elaborate excuse for being
the same late for their date, but Sandy didn't
know whether she should believe him
meaning by or not.
5. Jim found two shirts he liked, but he
using had trouble deciding which one he
should buy.
infinitives.
 Noun Clause Beginning with That
STATEMENT NOUN CLAUSE In (a): that he is a good actor is a noun
He is a good actor. a) I think that he is a good actor. clause. It is used as the object of the verb
The world is round b) I think he is a good actor. think.
c) We know (that) the world is round. The word that, when it introduces a noun
clause, has no meaning. It simply marks the
beginning of the clause. Frequently it is
omitted, as in (b), especially in speaking. (If
used in speaking, it is unstressed.)

She doesn't understand spoken English. The d) That she doesn't understand spoken In (d): The noun clause (That she doesn't
world is roun English is obvious. understand spoken English) is the subject of
e) It is obvious (that) she doesn't the sentence. The word that is not omitted
understand spoken English. when it introduces a noun clause used as the
f) That the world is round is a fact. subject of a sentence, as in (d) and (f) .
g) It is a fact that the world is round. More commonly, the word it functions as
the subject and the noun clause is placed at
the end of the sentence, as in (e) and (g)
This is the end of our class today. Next week we are going to discuss
Quoted and Reported Speech.