Silva Angraini Noun Clause
Silva Angraini Noun Clause
Silva Angraini Noun Clause
Noun Clause
Most people are comfortable with the idea of a noun, but they may not feel so confident
when it comes to the noun clause. A noun clause is a group of words acting together as a
noun. These clauses are always dependent clauses. That is, they do not form a complete
sentence.
The best way to familiarize yourself with these types of clauses is to take a look at some
sample sentences containing noun clauses at work.
One of the easiest ways to spot a noun clause is to look for these words:
How
That
What
Whatever
When
Where
Whether
Which
Whichever
Who
Whoever
Whom
Whomever
Why
Types of Noun Clauses
Beyond these keywords, you can also spot a noun clause based on its function within the
sentence. Let's take a look at some of the most prominent roles of noun clauses.
Subject of a Verb
Object of a Verb
Subject Complement
Object of a Preposition
Adjective Complement
Subject of a Verb
When there's a verb in the sentence, you must find the subject.
In the first sentence, we can ask, "What made her friends cry?" The answer is "what
Alicia said." Therefore, "what Alicia said" is the subject of the verb "made."
In the second sentence, we can ask, "What surprised her family?" The answer is "what
Megan wrote."
In the third sentence, we can ask, "What was not very polite?" The answer is "how the
boy behaved."
Object of a Verb
In the same vein, noun clauses can also act as the direct object of a verb:
Once again, you can use the method of questioning to demonstrate how the noun clause is
being used.
In the first sentence, we can ask, "What didn't she realize?" and the answer is "that the
directions were wrong." Therefore, "that the directions were wrong" is the object of
the verb.
In the second sentence, we can ask, "What didn't he know?" and the answer is "why
the stove wasn't working."
In the third sentence, we can ask, "What do they understand?" and the answer is "that
you should not cheat on a test."
Subject Complement
A noun clause can also serve as a subject complement. A subject complement will always
modify, describe, or complete the subject of a clause.
Do you see what questions these noun clauses answer and how they relate to the subject?
Object of a Preposition
Noun clauses also act as objects of a preposition. In the examples below, you'll see the
prepositions "of" and "for" in action.
Again, the best way to understand this concept is by asking the appropriate questions.
In the first sentence, we can ask, "Harry is not the best provider of what?" The answer
is "what Margie needs."
In the second sentence, we can ask, "Josephine is not responsible for what?" The
answer is "what Alex decided to do."
In the third sentence, we can ask, "Allie is the owner of what?" The answer is "that
blue car parked outside."
Each of these sentences could be complete before the addition of the prepositions. However,
the prepositions are introduced to provide further detail and the noun clauses act as the
objects of these prepositions.
Adjective Complement
Last but not least, a noun clause can also function as an adjective complement, modifying a
verb, adjective, or adverb.
The adjective complement is providing more information about the verb, adjective or adverb
that precedes it.
In the first sentence, we can ask, "What does Jerry know?" In this case, "know" is the
verb being modified. The thing that he knows is "why Elaine went to the store."
In the second sentence, we can ask, "What are they happy about?" In this case,
"happy" is the adjective being moodified. The thing that they are happy about is
"where they live now."
In the third sentence, we can ask, "How quickly does Geoffrey run?" Here, "quickly"
is the adverb being modified. He runs so quickly "that he can outrun his dog."
Similar to the examples containing prepositions, each of these sentences could be complete
after conjunction (e.g., why, where and that). The adjective complements provide further
detail and, in each of these instances, these adjective complements are noun clauses.
A clause has a subject and a verb and functions as one part of speech.
It follows therefore that a noun clause functions as a noun in a sentence. A great way to test whether a
phrase or clause is functioning as a noun is to try to replace it with a pronoun. If you can, your phrase
or clause is functioning as a noun.
(Pronoun test: "It is true." This proves that "What I say" is functioning as a noun.)
(Pronoun test: "Show me them." This proves that "how they work" is functioning as a noun.)
Lots of noun clauses start with that, how, or a "wh"-word (what, who, which, when, where, why). For
example:
I know that it happened.
I know how it happened.
I know why it happened.
(Often, the opening word (i.e., how, that, or the "wh"-word) is the subject of the noun clause.)
Light knows when you are looking at it. ("Light and space" artist James Turrell)
(Here, the noun clause is the direct object of the verb knows.)
It is a light thing for whoever keeps his foot outside trouble to advise and counsel him that
suffers. (Greek tragedian Aeschylus)
My relationships are between me and whomever I'm with, not between me and the world.
(Actress Lili Reinhart)
Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying. (Fran Lebowitz)
He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes. (James Thurber, 1894-1961)
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man. (H L
Mencken, 1880-1956)