Noun Clauses NOTE: DO NOT use question word order in a noun clause.

Helping verbs does, did, and do are used in questions but

Sentences contain phrases and clauses. not in noun clauses.

A phrase An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

• is a group of words. • contains the main subject and verb.

• does not contain a subject and a verb. • is the main clause of the sentence.

• is not a sentence. • may be a statement or a question.

a) in the park • can stand alone.

b) on a rainy day
f) Sue lives in Tokyo.
c) her grandparents in Turkey
g) Where does Sue live?
A clause

• is a group of words.
A DEPENDENT CLAUSE
• contains a subject and a verb.
• is not a complete sentence.
d) He went running in the park.
• cannot stand alone.
e) She visited her grandparents in Turkey.
• must be connected to a main clause.
Clauses can be independent or dependent.
h) where Sue lives. - fragment
NOUN CLAUSE
i) We don't know where Sue lives.

Example (i) is a complete sentence. It has..

• a main subject (We).

• a main verb (know).

• a dependent clause (where Sue lives).

The dependent clause - where Sue lives - is also a noun

Noun clauses can begin with question words. clause. It is the object of the verb know and functions like a
noun in the sentence.
QUESTION NOUN CLAUSE
Wh + helping verb + S + V Wh + S + V
Where does she live? a) I don't know where she
In (d) and (e): The word order is the same in both the
lives.
question and the noun clause because who is the subject in
What did he say? b) I couldn't hear what he
said. both.
When did they go? c) Do you know when they In (f): those men is the subject of the question, so it is
went? placed in front of the verb be in the noun clause.
Who lives there? d) I don't know who lives
there. COMPARE:
Who is at the door? e) I wonder who is at the
door. Who is at the door? = who is the subject of the question.
Who are those men? f) I don't know who those
Who are those men? = those men is the subject of the
men are.
question, so be is plural.
In (a): where she lives is a noun clause. It is the object of
the verb know. In a noun clause, the subject precedes the
verb.

The noun clause can come at the beginning of the sentence.

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 What did she say? h) What she said surprised (f) Please tell me how to get to the bus station.
me.
What will they do? i) What they will do is (g) Jim told us where we could find it.
obvious. (h) Jim told us where to find it.

Notice that the meaning expressed by the infinitive is either

In (h): What she said is the subject of the sentence.
should or can/could.
Notice in (i): A noun clause subject takes a singular verb
(e.g., is).
THAT
WHETHER AND IF Verb + That-clause

a) I think that Bob will come.

When a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause,
b) I think Bob will come. – omitted that (in Spoken)
whether or if is used to introduce the noun clause.
In (a): that Bob will come is a noun clause. It is used as the
NOTE: Whether is more common in writing and if is more
object of the verb think. The word that is usually omitted in
common in speaking.
speaking, as in b). It is usually included in formal writing.
YES/NO QUESTION NOUN CLAUSE
See the list below for verbs commonly followed by a that-
Will she come? a) I don't know whether she
will come. clause.
I don't know if she will come. Agree that Feel that Know that
Does he need help? b) I wonder whether he Remember that Believe that Decide that
needs help.
Discover that Explain that Find out that
I wonder if he needs help.
Forget that Hear that Hope that
c) I wonder whether or not
Know that Learn that Notice that
she will come.
Promise that Read that Say that
d) I wonder whether she will
Tell someone that Think that Understand that
come or not.
e) I wonder if she will come
or not. Person + be + adjective + That-clause.
(f) Whether she comes or not
is unimportant to me. c) Jan is happy (that) Bob called.

That-clauses commonly follow certain adjectives, such as

In (c), (d), and (e): Notice the patterns when or not is used. happy in (c), when the subject refers to a person (or
persons).
In (f): The noun clause can be in the subject position with
whether. See the list below.

I’m afraid that AI is certain that

I’m aware that AI is confident that
QUESTION WORDS FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVES I’m amazed that AI is disappointed that
I’m angry that AI is glad that
Question words (when, where, how, who, whom, whose,
what, which, and whether) may be followed by an
infinitive. We’re happy that Jan is sorry that
We’re pleased Jan is sure that
Each pair of sentences in the examples has the same
We’re proud that Jan is surprised that
meaning.
We’re relieved that Jan is worried that
(a) I don't know what I should do.

(b) I don't know what to do. It + be + Adjective + That-clause

(c) Pam can't decide whether she should go or stay home. That-clauses commonly follow adjectives in sentences that
begin with it + be.
(d) Pam can't decide whether to go or (to) stay home.
a) It is clear (that) Ann likes her new job.
(e) Please tell me how I can get to the bus station.
See the list below.
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 It’s amazing that It’s likely that It’s obvious that
It’s clear that It’s lucky that It’s possible that
It’s good that It’s nice that It’s strange that
It’s true that It’s wonderful It’s undeniable
that that
It’s important It’s interesting It’s surprising Quoting more than one sentence
that that that
It’s well-known d) ‘’My brother is a student. He is attending a
that university,’’ she said.

In (d): Quotation marks are placed at the beginning and end

That-clause used as a Subject of the complete quote. Notice: There are no quotation
marks after student.
It is possible but uncommon for that-clauses to be used as
the subject of a sentence, as in (e). The word that is not e) "My brother is a student," she said. "He is
omitted when the that-clause is used as a subject. attending a university.’’
a) That Ann likes her new job is clear. In (e): Since she said comes between two quoted sentences,
the second sentence begins with quotation marks and a
More often, a that-clause in the subject position begins with
capital letter.
the fact that, as in (b), or is introduced by it is a fact, as in
(c).

b) The fact (that) Ann likes her new job is clear. Quoting a Question or an Exclamation
c) It is a fact (that) Ann likes her new job.
f) She asked, ‘’When will you be here?’’

In (f): The question mark is inside the closing quotation

Quoted Speech (Direct Speech) marks since it is part of the quotation.

Quoted speech refers to reproducing words exactly as they g) "When will you be here?" she asked.
were originally spoken or written. Quotation marks (‘’….‘’)
are used. In (g): Since a question mark is used, no comma is used
before she asked.
Quoted speech is also called "direct speech." Reported
speech is also called "indirect speech." h) She said, "Watch out!"

In British English, quotation marks are called "inverted In (h): The exclamation point is inside the closing quotation
commas" and can consist of either double marks (‘’) or a marks.
single mark (‘): She said, ‘My brother is a student’.
i) "My brother is a student," said Anna.
Quoting one sentence "My brother," said Anna, "is a student."

a) She said, "My brother is a student." In (i): The noun subject (Anna) follows said. A noun subject
often follows the verb when the subject and verb come in
In (a): Use a comma after she said. Capitalize the first word the middle or at the end of a quoted sentence.
of the quoted sentence. Put the final quotation marks
outside the period at the end of the sentence. NOTE: A pronoun subject almost always precedes the verb.

b) "My brother is a student,’’ she said. "My brother is a student," she said.

VERY RARE: "My brother is a student," said she.

In (b): Use a comma, not a period, at the end of the quoted
sentence when it precedes she said.

c) "My brother," she said, "is a student." Say and ask are the most commonly used quote verbs.

In (c): If the quoted sentence is divided by she said, use a Some others: add, agree, announce, answer, beg, begin,
comma after the first part of the quote. Do not capitalize comment, complain, confess, continue, explain, inquire,
the first word after she said. promise, remark, reply, respond, shout, suggest, whisper.

j) "Let's leave," whispered Dave.

k) "Please help me," begged the homeless man.

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 l) "Well," Jack began, "it's a long story." g) "I had worked."
 He said he had worked.

In spoken English, if the speaker is reporting something

immediately or soon after it was said, no change is made in
the noun clause verb.

h) Immediate reporting:
REPORTED SPEECH (Indirect Speech) - What did the teacher just say? I didn't hear him.
Quoted speech uses a person's exact words, and it is set off - He said he wants us to read Chapter 6.
by quotation marks. However, Reported speech uses a noun
clause to report what someone has said. No quotation
marks are used. i) Later reporting:
- I didn't go to class yesterday. Did Mr. Jones give
The present tense is used when the reported sentence any assignments?
deals with a general truth. - Yes. He said he wanted us to read Chapter 6.
a) "The world is round."
 She said (that) the world is round.
In reported speech, an imperative sentence is changed to
That is optional; it is more common in writing than an infinitive. Tell is used instead of say as the reporting
speaking. verb.

j) "Leave."
When the reporting verb is Present Simple, Present Perfect,  She told me to leave.
or Future, the verb in the noun clause does not change. d) ‘’Don’t leave.’’
 She told me not to leave.
b) "I work at night."
 He says he works at night. NOTE: Tell is immediately followed by a (pro)noun object,
 He has said that he works at night. but say is not:
 He will say that he works at night. He told me he was late. He said he was late.
Also possible: He said to me he was late.

If the reporting verb (e.g., said) is Past Simple, the verb in

the noun clause will usually be in a past form. Here are MODAL VERBS in NOUN CLAUSES
some general guidelines:
The following modal and phrasal modal verbs change
Present Simple -> Past Simple
when the reporting verb is in the past:
c) "I work at night."
 He said he worked at night. can -> could

Present Progressive -> Past Progressive a) "I can go."

 She said she could go.
d) "I am working."
 He said he was working. may -> may/might

Past Simple -> no change or Past Perfect b) "I may go."

 She said she may/might go.
e) "I worked."
 He said he worked/had worked. must -> had to

Present Perfect -> Past Perfect c) "I must go."

 She said she had to go.
f) "I have worked."
 He said he had worked. have to -> had to

Past Perfect -> no change d) "I have to go."

 She said she had to go.

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will -> would Passive: be + past participle (V3)

e) "I will go." d) It is important that they be told the truth.

 She said she would go.

am/is/are going to -> was/were going to

Should is also possible after suggest and recommend.
f) "I am going to go."
e) I suggested/recommended that she see a doctor.
 She said she was going to go.
I suggested/recommended that she should see a
The following modals do not change when the reporting doctor.
verb is in the past:

should / ought to / might -> no change NOTE: The subjunctive is more common in American English
than British English.
g) "I should go."
 She said she should go. In British English, should + Verb 1 is more usual than the
subjunctive:

The teacher insists that we should be on time.

h) "I ought to go."
 She said she ought to go.

i) "I might go."

 She said she might go.

THE SUBJUNCTIVE in NOUN CLAUSES

Sentences with subjunctive verbs generally stress
importance or urgency. A subjunctive verb uses the simple
form of a verb (V1). It does not have present, past, or future
forms; it is neither singular nor plural. A subjunctive verb is
used in that-clauses with the verbs and expressions listed
here.

Advise Propose Ask

Demand Insist Recommend
Request Suggest

It is essential It is imperative It is important

It is critical It is necessary It is vital

a) The teacher demands that we be on time.

In (a): be is a subjunctive verb; its subject is we.

b) I insisted that he pay me the money.

In (b): pay (not pays, not paid is a subjunctive verb; it is in

its simple form, even though its subject (he) is singular.

Negative: not + simple form of a verb (V1).

c) I recommended that she not go to the concert.

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