NOUN CLAUSES
A. Noun clauses perform the same
functions in sentences that nouns do:
As Adjective As Object of Verb As Object of As Subject
Complement Preposition
Begins that Begins that or wh Begins the fact that Begins the fact that or
or wh wh
Examples: Examples: Examples: Examples:
She is sorry that She doesn’t know She is bothered by The fact that she lied
she lied. why she lied. the fact that she lied. is
I am worried that I think that she She is worried about disturbing.
you will misunder- might tell another what she did. What she lied about
stand. lie. is her weight.
To change a statement to a noun
clause use that:
▫ I know + Billy made a mistake =
I know that Billy made a mistake.
To change a yes/no question to a noun
clause, use if or whether:
▫ George wonders + Does Fred know how to cook? =
George wonders if Fred knows how to cook.
To change a wh-question to a noun
clause, use the wh-word:
▫ I don’t know + Where is George? =
I don’t know where George is.
• C. The subordinators in noun clauses are called
noun clause markers. Here is a list of the noun
clause markers:
that
if, whether
Wh-words: how, what, when,
where, which, who, whom, whose,
why
Wh-ever words: however,
whatever, whenever, wherever,
whichever, whoever, whomever
• D. Except for that, noun clause markers
cannot be omitted. Only that can be
omitted, but it can be omitted only if it is not the
first word in a sentence:
• correct:
▫ Billy’s friends didn’t know that he couldn’t swim.
▫ Billy’s friends didn’t know he couldn’t swim.
▫ Billy’s mistake was that he refused to take lessons.
▫ Billy’s mistake was he refused to take lessons.
▫ That Billy jumped off the pier surprised everyone.
NOT CORRECT * Billy jumped off the
pier surprised everyone.
• E. Statement word order is always used
in a noun clause, even if the main clause is a
question:
▫ not correct:
* Do you know what time is it? (Question word order: is it)
▫ correct:
Do you know what time it is? (Statement word order: it is)not
correct:
* Everybody wondered where did Billy go. (Question word
order: did Billy go)
▫ correct:
Everybody wondered where Billy went. (Statement word order:
Billy went)
Sequence of tenses in sentences containing
noun clauses:
When the main verb (the verb in the independent
clause) is present, the verb in the noun clause is:
• future if its action/state is later
▫ He thinks that the exam next week will be hard.
▫ He thinks that the exam next week is going to
be hard.
• present if its action/state is at the same time
▫ He thinks that Mary is taking the exam right now.
• past if its action/state is earlier
▫ He thinks that George took the exam yesterday.
• When the main verb (the verb in the independent
clause) is past, the verb in the noun clause is:
• was/were going to or would + BASE if its
action/state is later
▫ He thought that the exam the following week was
going to be hard.
▫ He thought that the exam the following week would
be hard.
• past if its action/state is at the same time
▫ He thought that Mary was taking the exam then.
• past perfect if its action/state is earlier
He thought that George had taken the exam the
day before.
▫ If the action/state of the noun clause is still in
the future (that is, after the writer has written the
sentence), then a future verb can be used even if
the main verb is past.
The astronaut said that people will live on other
planets someday.
if the action/state of the noun clause continues in
the present (that is, at the time the writer is writing
the sentence) or if the noun clause expresses
a general truth or fact, the simple present
tensecan be used even if the main verb is past.
• We learned that English is not easy.
• The boys knew that the sun rises in the east.
