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Nounclauses2 171026081949

Noun clauses are groups of words that function as nouns within a sentence. They contain both a subject and a verb, but do not express a complete thought on their own. Noun clauses can serve as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence. They are often introduced by words like "that", "whether", "who", "what", "when", "where", and "why". Identifying the verbs and prepositions in a sentence can help locate any noun clauses.

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Roberto Galarza
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81 views24 pages

Nounclauses2 171026081949

Noun clauses are groups of words that function as nouns within a sentence. They contain both a subject and a verb, but do not express a complete thought on their own. Noun clauses can serve as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence. They are often introduced by words like "that", "whether", "who", "what", "when", "where", and "why". Identifying the verbs and prepositions in a sentence can help locate any noun clauses.

Uploaded by

Roberto Galarza
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Noun

Clauses
What is a Noun?
We often say that a noun is:
• A person
• A place
• An animal
• A thing

However, this definition is too


simple. Nouns can also refer to
abstract ideas, like “patriotism”
or “wisdom”.
What is a Noun?
Perhaps it is better to think of nouns as either:

✗Subject
✗Object
✗Complement
S O

Look for the nouns


Paul eats pizza.
in these sentences: Complement
follow state of
Sandy is a doctor. being verbs like
“to be” or
“become”.
S C
What is a Clause?
A clause is a group of words containing a subject and
a verb:

✗ Jim reads.
✗ Mark walks to class.

A sentence can have two or more clauses:


Dependent Clause
✗ I ate salad because I’m on a diet.
✗ Last week, for reasons I’ll never understand, my
wife got a tattoo.

Clauses are considered either independent or


dependent.
What is a Noun Clause?
A noun clause is a clause that takes the place of a
noun. In other words, it is either a

✗ Subject
✗ Object
✗ Complement

Let’s look at some examples to better understand


what a noun clause does.
Subject Object

We can eat pizza.

Verb
Subject Object

We can eat whatever you want.

Verb ?
Remember: This is a dependent clause.
It has a subject and verb, but it is not a full sentence.

subject

whatever you want

verb

That’s because it doesn’t express a complete idea.


Subject Complement

Steve Jobs was a genius.

Verb
Subject

Whoever invented the


iPhone was a genius.

Verb Complement
Again, you can see this is not a complete thought, so
it is a dependent clause.

Whoever invented the iPhone

Also, look at the first word of the clause. It is similar to


the first word of the previous example clause,
“whatever.”
First Words
Noun clauses can often be recognized by their first
word.

Some include –ever:


✗ whoever
✗ wherever
✗ whenever
✗ whichever

Others include whether or if, and most contain


question words:

✗ who, what, where, when, why, how


First Words
Let’s look at some examples:

I know why you were angry.


I know how you did it.
I know where you were yesterday.
I know what they will do.
I know who will win the race.
I know when she will arrive.
I don’t know whether to bring a gift or not.
I don’t know if we should go to the party.

Note: Each example includes the verb “know” because noun clauses
can express an idea that is difficult to capture in a single word, which is
often necessary following “know”.
First Words
That is another commonly used first word; however, it
is often omitted from a sentence in spoken English.

✗ She always felt (that) she wasn’t good enough.


✗ I know (that) you are angry with me.
✗ It seems (that) we are in a difficult situation.
✗ He believed (that) everything happens for a reason.
✗ My cousin told me (that) she’s going to Germany
for a semester.
Look for the Verb
To find a noun clause, search for the verbs and
prepositions in a sentence.

verbs

I wonder why she didn’t come to work today.

preposition

You should think about what you want to do


next year.
More
Examples
What she said inspired me.

The noun clause here acts


as a subject.
Once you retire, you can
do whatever you want.

Here, the noun clause


is a direct object of the
verb “do”.
Young people need to
think about what they will
do in the future.

This noun clause is the


object of a preposition.
Ask your guests what they
want to drink as soon as
they arrive.

Be careful with these


types of sentence. The
dependent clause is in the
middle of the main clause.
Practice
1. Susan had a problem. She
didn’t study hard enough.
2. You want me to do
something. I am not
responsible for doing it.
Join the two
3. I said something. It was
sentences to make
not very nice.
one sentence that
4. They want to programme a
includes a noun
computer. Now they
clause.
understand.
5. A man walked on the
moon. I met him.
1. Susan’s problem was that
she didn’t study hard
enough.
2. I am not responsible for
what you want me to do. Here are some
3. What I said was not very possible answers.
nice.
4. They know understand
how to programme a
computer.
5. I met a man who walked
on the moon.
If you found this grammar
lesson useful, you can
check out TED-IELTS.com
for more free English
practice. Also take a look at
my other teaching blog,
which gives lesson plans
for teachers.

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