1. Noun Clauses

2. What is a noun?
The simplest definition is: a noun is a person, place or thing.
A noun is a part of speech. Subjects and objects are parts of a sentence.
Nouns function as subjects or objects. Therefore: Nouns = subjects or objects.
For Example,
The burrito gave me heartburn.

3. But What About This One? What I had for breakfast gave me heartburn.
Why isn’t the subject "I"?
Why isn’t it "breakfast"?
In the sentence above, ask "what gave me heartburn?"
"I"? clearly not.
"Breakfast"? not exactly.
"What I had for breakfast"? Right.

4. Noun Clauses
A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. (unlike a phrase)
Noun clauses can be used in a number of ways, and they serve different purposes. First and foremost, please recognize that these clauses are dependent clauses. A dependent clause is one that cannot stand by itself. If a dependent clause is placed alone, it forms a fragment, not a sentence. An independent clause (or main clause) can act as a sentence by itself, but dependent clauses cannot.

5. Examples, Billy likes swimming. (independent clause)
What did Billy do? (independent clause)
What Billy likes. (dependent clause, incomplete sentence)
I know what Billy likes. (complete sentence containing a noun clause as the object)
What Billy did was a mistake. (complete sentence containing a noun clause as the subject)

6. More Examples What the English teacher said was inspiring.
The wonderful thing about English teachers is that they all get along so well.
I must decide which English course to take.
English teachers dispense wisdom to whoever will listen.

7. Explanation
What the English teacher said was inspiring. This noun clause is used as a subject.
The wonderful thing about English teachers is that they all get along so well. This noun clause is used as a subject complement.
I must decide which English course to take. This noun clause is used as a direct object.
English teachers dispense wisdom to whoever will listen. This noun clause is the object of a preposition.

8. Dependent signals which introduce noun clauses
Wh– question words like: Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What, When, Where, How and Why.
That
If or Whether
And various forms of "-ever“ like: Whoever or Whenever.

9. NC with a question word
What does your child want for dinner? (a question)
Ask your child what he wants for dinner. ( a sentence containing a noun clause as the direct object of ask)
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.

10. Question words followed by infinitives
Question words may be followed by an infinitive. Having the same meaning (should/ can)
For example:
* I don’t know what I should do.
I don’t know what to do.
* Please tell me how I can get to the bus station.
Please tell me how to get to the bus station.