1. Noun Clauses
11B

2. What is a noun clause?
functions as a subject, subject complement, direct object, or object of a preposition.
I know what he said.
I know where Sue lives.
What he said is true.

3. More about noun clauses
Noun clauses are not modifiers, so they are not subordinators like adjectives and adverbs
They cannot stand alone.
They must function within another sentence pattern and always as nouns

4. Noun Clauses, continued
A noun clause usually begins with a relative pronoun like
"that,“
"which,“
"who,“
"whoever,“
"whomever,“
"whose,“
"what,“
"whatsoever.“
It can also begin with the subordinating conjunctions "how," "when," "where," "whether," and "why."

5. That clause Main Clause That Clause
They didn’t think (that) it would break.
I think (that) he called.
Have a subject and a verb
No comma between the main clause and the that clause
That can usually be omitted

6. That clause That clauses follow mental activity verbs to express
Opinions
Thoughts
Feelings

7. Noun clauses with Question words
Where does she live?
Noun Clause
I don’t know where she lives.
s v o
**does/did/do are used in questions but not NC’s

8. NC’s with question words
What did he say?
What did she say?
Noun Clause
I couldn’t hear what he said.
What she said surprised me.

9. NC’s with question words
When do they arrive?
Noun Clause
Do you know when they arrive?

10. NC’s with question words
Who lives there?
Noun Clause
I don’t know who lives there.

11. Whether or if
Use “whether” or “if” when a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause.
Whether is more common in formal English
Both whether and if have the same meaning and are commonly used in speaking

12. Whether or if Yes/no question Will she come? Noun clause
I don’t know whether she will come.
s v o
I don’t know if she will come.

13. Whether or if Notice the patterns with or not is used.
I wonder whether or not she will come.
I wonder whether she will come or not.
I wonder if she will come or not
Whether she comes or not is unimportant.