A
noun clause is a subordinate clause that does the work of a noun in a sentence.
Also known as a nominal clause.
It
can be a subject, predicate nominative, direct object,
appositive,
indirect object, or object of the preposition.
Notice that some of these words also introduce adjective and adverbial clauses.
A clause is a noun clause if a pronoun (he, she, it, or they) could be
substituted for it.
Let us know how to identify a noun clause
Example
:
I know that she left for dance class in the morning.
We need to ask a question to find out what the
subject knows.
Question
: I know what?
Answer : That she left for
dance class in the morning.
The answer to this question is the subordinate
sentence. It is a noun clause
in the sentence.
"All sentences, then, are clauses,
but not all clauses are sentences.
In the following sentences, for example, the direct object
slot contains a clause rather than a noun phrase.
These are examples of nominal clauses
(sometimes called 'noun clauses'):
- I know that the students studied their assignment.
- I wonder what is making Tracy so unhappy.
These
nominal clauses are examples of dependent
clauses--in contrast to independent clauses, those clauses that
function as complete sentences."
A noun clause can be identified by asking who and what.
A noun clause can be identified by asking who and what.
A noun clause usually
begins with words like
that
if
what whether
whether who
where whose
whom
why
however whoever
whatever wherever, etc.
Example
: Whatever he will win
is undecided. (That we underline is noun clause).
Function of Noun Clause:
A noun clause acts as a noun in a sentence. It can
function in different ways.
As a subject of a verb,
example : what route we take is our choice.
As a object of a verb,
example : I thought that we would watch the movie.
Thus,
a noun clause can function as either the subject of the verb or the object of
the sentence.
We know that a noun clause can function as the
object of the verb in a sentence.
It can also function as the object of a participle,
a preposition or an infinitive.
As object of a participle
: Discovering that it was right, I
jumped with joy.
As object of a preposition
: Sometimes I think of what he said.
As object of an infinitive :
Jim wants to know where his friends are.
As an adjective complement
: The girls were happy that Saturday was
a holiday.
As a complement of a verb of incomplete predication
: The problem is that we do not have a
leader.
In apposition to a noun or a pronoun : The man that we saw there is Mr. Harris.
As we have seen, a noun clause has several functions
in a sentence. It functions :
-
As subject of a verb
-
As object of a verb
-
As object of a participle
-
As object of a preposition
-
As object of an infinitive
-
As an adjective complement
-
As complement of a verb of incomplete
predication
-
In apposition or addition to a noun or a
pronoun
We have looked at noun clauses. Now let us read some
more examples.
-
My belief is that we will win! (complement of a verb of incomplete predication)
-
Sometimes people wish that they could go back in time. (object
of a verb)
-
How
the documents went missing is anyone’s guess. (subject of a
verb)
-
Hoping that she loved chocolates, Joshua bought a box of bonbons. (object
of a participle)
The
Main Points about Noun Clause
-
A clause is a group of words that
contains a subject and a predicate. It forms part of a sentence.
-
If a clause makes complete sense in
itself, it is called the main clause or the principal clause of that sentence.
If it is dependent on another clause to complete its meaning, it is called the
subordinate clause.
-
There can be only one main clause or
principal clause.
-
The word or words that join a
subordinate clause with the principal clause are called subordinating
conjunctions.
-
There are three types of subordinate
clauses: noun clauses, adjective clauses and adverb clauses.
-
A noun clause is a subordinate clause
that does the work of a noun in a sentence.
-
A noun clause can be identified by
asking who or what questions in given sentences.
-
A noun clause usually begins with words
like that, what, if, whether, how, where, who, whom, whose, why, however,
whatever, wherever, whoever, etc.
-
A noun clause can function in different
ways.
o
As subject of a verb
o
As object of a verb
o
As object of a participle
o
As object of a preposition
o
As object of an infinitive
o
As an adjective complement
o
As complement of a verb of incomplete
predication
o
In apposition or addition to a noun or a
pronoun
