SEVENTH WEEK

COMPLEX SENTENCES: THE NOUN CLAUSE

COMPLEX SENTENCE: a kid of sentence which has one independent clause and one or more

dependent clauses.

KINDS OF DEPENDENT CLAUSES:

(a) Adverb Clause

(b) Adjective Clause

(c) Noun Clause

THE NOUN CLAUSE

I. The structure of the Noun Clause

A. Relative Pronouns or Subordinating Conjunctions

(1) Can be used in both adjective clause and noun clauses:

pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that

conjunctions: when, where, why

(2) Can be used only in noun clauses:

pronouns: what, whatever, whoever, whichever

conjunctions: how, whether

COMPARE: He likes the girl who is coming.

Pron. VT Noun Adjective Clause

(Subj.) (D.O.)

I don’t know who is coming.

Pron. VT Noun Clause

(Subj.) (D.O.)

B. Basic Sentence Types in the Noun Clause

(1) Whoever studies hard… TYPE 1 N + VI

Rel. Pron. VI Adverb

(Subj.)

(2) Whatever he likes… TYPE 2 N + VT + N

RP Pron. VT

(D.O.) (Subj.)

(3) Who he became… TYPE 3 N + LV + N

RP Pron. LV

(subj. (Subj.)

Complement)

whoever

whatever

who

(4) COMPARE: I don’t know when he will arrive. TYPE 1 N + VI +

Pron. VT Noun Clause

(Subj.) (D.O.)

We will have dinner when he arrives.

Main Clause Adverb Clause---Future-possible Condition

(See Text pp. 249-250)

II. Position of the Noun Clause within the Main Clause

(1) Whoever likes Shakespeare will come to this play.

Noun Clause VI Prep. Ph.

(Subject)

(2) Her mother will decide whether she can go.

Noun VT Noun Clause

(Subject) (Direct Object)

(3) The company will give whoever signs up for the tour a map of the city.

Noun VT Noun Clause Noun Prep. Ph.

(Subject) (Indirect Object) (Direct Object)

(4) Bill thought the party boring.

Noun VT Noun Adjective

(Subj.) (D.O.) (Object Complement)

Bill thought the party what he had expected it to be.

Noun VT Noun Noun Clause

(Subj.) (D.O.) (Object Complement)

when

ADVERB (then)

PREP. PH.

(at that time)

TYPE 1 NOUN CLAUSE + VI

TYPE 2 NOUN CLAUSE + VT + N

TYPE 2 N + VT + NOUN CLAUSE

(No example given)

TYPE 2 N + VT + NOUN CLAUSE + N

TYPE 2 N + VT + N + N or ADJ.

TYPE 2 N + VT + N + NOUN CLAUSE

(5) That she loves him is what he cares the most about.

Noun Clause LV Noun Clause

(Subject) (Subject Complement)

(6) It is important that you attend this meeting.

Pron. LV Adjective NOUN CLAUSE

(Dummy (Subj. (Real Subject)

Subj.) Complement)

(7) Noun Clause as Adjective Complement

I am happy that you came.

Pron. LV Adj. Noun Clause

(Subj.) (Subj. (Adjective Complement)

Complement)

(8) Noun Clause as Object of Preposition

You may ask about whatever you don’t understand.

Prep. Noun Clause

(Object of Preposition)

III. The Noun Clause as Subject

(1) Whoever is ready can make a speech

Noun Clause VT Noun

(Subject) (D.O.)

(2) Whichever horse is faster will win.

Noun Clause VI

(Subject)

Noun Clause: describes a person or persons

Verb: Action verb

Noun Clause: refers to living things

Verb: Action verb

(Whoever)

(Whichever)

TYPE 3 NOUN CLAUSE + LV + NOUN CLAUSE

TYPE 3 IT + LV + ADJ. + NOUN CLUSE

(Pattern 9)

Note: Noun clauses are often used in

this pattern because in English

the major emphasis is at the END

of the sentence.

TYPE 3 N + LV + ADJ. + NOUN CLAUSE

(Pattern 7)

(3) What you hope for may not occur.

Noun Clause VI

(Subject)

(4) That he is always late for work annoys his boss.

Noun Clause VT Noun

(Subject) (D.O.)

(5) What the weather is like will determine whether we go hiking tomorrow.

Noun Clause VT Noun Clause

(Subject) (Direct Object)

(6) That this new discovery may have harmful effects is what worries many scientists.

Noun Clause LV Noun Clause

(Subject) (Subject Complement)

IV. The Relative Pronoun THAT in Noun Clauses and Adjective Clauses

(1) Linda is the girl (that) Bill met yesterday.

Noun LV Noun Adjective Clause

(2) Fred knows (that) Bill met Linda yesterday.

Noun VT Noun Clause--DIRECT OBJECT

(3) He is glad (that) he passed the test.

Pron.LV Adj. Noun Clause--ADJECTIVE COMPLEMENT

(4) That he came surprised everyone.

Noun Clause VT Pronoun

SUBJECT

Noun Clause: describes an event

Verb: happen or occur

happen.

Noun Clause: describes a situation

Verb: Arousal of a feeling or

reaction

decide

Noun Clause: describes a situation or

condition

Verb: Verb of decision

Noun Clause: describes a situation or

condition

Verb: Linking verb

Note: In a noun clause THAT has no

grammatical function

Note: If a noun clause beginning with THAT is

the subject or subject complement, THAT

CANNOT be left out.

(D.O.)

V. Mistakes to Avoid

A. The following relative pronouns and subordinating conjunctions can be used in

both NOUN CLAUSES and QUESTIONS:

who, whom, whose, which, when, where, why, what, how

COMPARE:

Question: Where is he going? Where + AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT + VERB + ?

Sentence using Noun Clause: I don’t know where he is going.

Noun Clause

WHERE + SUBJECT + VERB

B. A NOUN CLAUSE is a DEPENDENT CLAUSE; therefore, it CANNOT stand by itself as a

complete sentence.

NOT CORRECT: That interest rates have gone down.

Noun Clause

CORRECT: That interest rates have gone down is good news for businessmen.

Noun Clause (SUBJECT) LV Noun Prep. Ph.

REMEMBER: NOUN CLAUSE = NOUN