1 Noun Clauses

2 What is a noun clause? A noun clause contains a subject and a verb. Like the adjective clause and the adverbial clause, it can not stand by itself as a sentence. It must be a part of a complete sentence taking the place of a noun.

3 Some words that begin a Noun Clause:

4 Bet you didn’t know!! Since noun clauses take the place of nouns in sentences, a noun clause can perform any of the four functions a single noun can perform. A noun clause can be the subject of a sentence, a direct object, a predicate nominative, or the object of a preposition.

Subject-tells whom/what sentence about. Direct Object-word/group of words that names the receiver of the action of an action verb. Predicate Nominative- nouns/pronouns that rename, identify, or define subjects. Object of a Preposition-words that follow a preposition (of, at, over, since, etc.) 5

Unit 2: Systemic Conflict 6 What you now see is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. This noun clause acts as the subject of the sentence.

7 Now I understand what must be done. This noun clause acts as the direct object in the sentence. In other words, what must be done answers the question of what is understood.

8 Mr. Jones is valuable for what he knows about history. This noun clause acts as the object of the preposition for.

9 What you see is what you get. This noun clause acts as the subject. This noun clause acts as a predicate noun.

Let’s break it down even more! 10

Noun Clauses Beginning with Question Words Wh- clauses begin with words like who, what, how, whenever, which, etc. I need to explain what a noun clause is. I don't know where Mary lives. Tell me how old she is. What is a noun clause? Where does Mary live? How old is she? questions

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. Sue knows who they are. She knows what happened.

Noun Clauses Beginning with Whether or If When a Yes/No question is changed to a noun clause, whether or if is used to introduce the noun clause. 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 whether Mary went to work yesterday or not. Whether he invites her or not is important.

Noun Clauses Beginning with That I think that the war will end soon. object of the verb think 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. It is obvious that pollution affects the quality of our lives. That he is still alive is a miracle. It is a miracle that he is still alive.

Time for Practice 15

1. What you thought about that candidate is correct. 2. The paleontologist remembers when he met you at the conference. 3. Will these older folks recall how they were part of a terrific generation? 4. Remind whoever is on your discussion panel that we will meet tomorrow morning in the library. 5. Give whoever needs that information the correct numbers. 6. Mr. Bellington reminded us of where we should obtain the necessary papers for our licenses. 7. My children's request is that you wear your silly tie to the birthday party. 8. The lady's wish is that you bring her some pansies and daisies. 16

1. What you thought about that candidate is correct. 2. The paleontologist remembers when he met you at the conference. 3. Will these older folks recall how they were part of a terrific generation? 4. Remind whoever is on your discussion panel that we will meet tomorrow morning in the library. 5. Give whoever needs that information the correct numbers. 6. Mr. Bellington reminded us of where we should obtain the necessary papers for our licenses. 7. My children's request is that you wear your silly tie to the birthday party. 8. The lady's wish is that you bring her some pansies and daisies. 17

1. These math teachers taught us whatever we needed to know for the exam. 2. The winner will be whichever speller correctly spells the most words. 3. When the next door will open is puzzling to all of us. 4. Give the survey's results to whoever asks for them. 5. The family's housekeeper scrubbed whichever floors were dirty. 6. I asked whomever I wanted to come to the dance. 7. Whatever time you decide to leave is fine with me. 8. That these clams cannot be opened more easily frustrates Samantha. 18

1. These math teachers taught us whatever we needed to know for the exam. 2. The winner will be whichever speller correctly spells the most words. 3. When the next door will open is puzzling to all of us. 4. Give the survey's results to whoever asks for them. 5. The family's housekeeper scrubbed whichever floors were dirty. 6. I asked whomever I wanted to come to the dance. 7. Whatever time you decide to leave is fine with me. 8. That these clams cannot be opened more easily frustrates Samantha. 19