NOUN
CLAUSE
A noun clause has a subject and verb. It is
used as the subject or object in a sentence.
A noun clause is a dependent
clause that works like a noun. You can find it as a subject or object.
Examples :
•
I read what she wrote.
•
What she wrote is interesting.
A. Syntactic Functions of Noun Clause
1.
A subject of verb
◦ How he gets the money is his own
affair.
◦ Whether (or not) he gets the money doesn’t
concern me.
The two groups
of italic words are the subject of
the sentences above.
2. An object of verb
◦ I know that coffee grows in Brazil.
◦ I do not know how he will get the money.
The
two groups of italic words are the object
of verb of the sentences above.
3. An object of preposition
Example
sentence:
Were they
punished for how they acted?
The noun
clause here, “how they acted,” functions as an object of the preposition “for.”
The subject- verb combination of the noun clause is “they acted,” and its
subordinator is “how.” The independent clause is “Were they punished for,”
which by itself is not a complete sentence.
We were concerned about how he will get the money.
We talked about what a pretty girl she was.
|
4. A subjective complement
- The question is how he will get the money.
- My
understanding is that coffee grows in Brazil.
The two groups of italic words are the subjective complement of the
sentences above.
5.
An Adjective Complement :
◦ Everybody
is sad that Billy drowned.
◦ He is happy that he is learning English.
◦ We are all
afraid that the final exam will be
difficult.
The three groups of italic words are the Adjective
Complement of the sentences above.
B.
TYPES OF NOUN CLAUSES
1.
Noun Clauses Beginning with
Question Words
Noun clauses that preceded by question words are usually used to answer
a question. Example
:
Q:Where does Intan Live?.
A: I don't know where Intan lives. "Where Intan lives" is a noun clause. We can answer this question
without a noun clause by saying the following. I don't know Intan's address. The noun phrase, Sarik's address, replaces with the
noun clause, where Intan lives.
Questions
What do
you do in class?
Where does
he work?
What should I
do?
Who are they?
What happened?
|
Noun Clauses
What we do in class is easy.
Where he works is a secret.
I don’t know what you should do.
Mary knows who they are.
She knows what happened.
|
Wh- clauses begin with words like who, what, how, whenever, which, etc.
Example :
•
I need to explain what a noun clause is.
•
I don't know where Mary lives.
•
Tell me how old she is.
2.
Noun Clauses Beginning with
Whether or If
( Yes Or No Question)
Noun clauses that preceded by whether or if are used
to answer yes/no type
questions. Whether and if are usually
interchangeable.
When a Yes/No question is changed to a noun
clause, whether or if is used to introduce the noun clause.
Examples:
Q:Does Judy own a Yamaha?
A: I don't know if Judy owns a Yamaha. "if Judy owns a Yamaha" is a noun clause. We could answer this question without a noun
clause by saying the following. I don't know the answer. In this case,
the noun phrase, the answer, replaces the noun clause, if Judy owns a Yamaha.
•
I don't know whether you have studied noun
clauses before.
•
I don't know if you have studied noun clauses
before.
•
I wonder if it will rain tomorrow.
•
I wonder if it will rain tomorrow or not.
•
I wonder whether or not Mary went to work yesterday.
•
I wonder whether Mary went to work yesterday or not.
•
Whether he invites her or
not is important.
3.
Question Words Followed by
Infinitive
Question words (when, where, how, who, whom, whose,
what, which) and whether may be followed by an infinitive.
Examples
:
•
My mother told me where to go.
•
My mother told me where I should go.
•
He can’t decide whether to accept the offer or not.
•
He can’t decide whether he should accept the offer
or not.
•
Please tell me how to operate this machine.
•
Please tell me how I could operate this machine.
4.
Noun Clauses Beginning with That
Noun clauses that preceded by that are used to answer questions in which
person who is answering is thinking, giving an opinion, or using a mental
activity verb.
Examples :
•
I think that the war will end soon.
•
I know (that) he will be successful.
•
Teachers claim that grammar is fun.
•
That Mary studied very hard was obvious to
John.
(That Mary studied very hard) is the subject of the sentence.
•
That pollution affects the quality of our lives is obvious.
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