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NOUN CLAUSES İSİM CÜMLELERİ (İNGİLİZCE KONU ANLATIM)

NOUN CLAUSES 1

A noun clause is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence.  It must be connected to an independent clause, a main clause. A noun clause has its own subject and verb. It can begin with a question word. It can begin with if or whether. And it can begin with that.

a) Noun clauses with question words:

The following question words can be used to introduce a noun clause: when, where, why, how, who, whom, what, which, whose.

Example:

Answer this question using 'I don't know...'

Where does Maria live?

I don't know -------------.

It is incorrect to say, "I don't know where does she live."

Notice that "does she live" is a question form.  Noun clauses cannot be in question form; it has to be a statement.

"I don't know where she lives" is the correct answer.

You try it:

Respond to these questions using I don't know...

1-   How old is Kate?

2-   Where did Juan go?

3-   Why did Maria leave?

4-   What did she say?

5-   When is she going to leave?

6-   What country is Maria from?

7-   What is that girl's name?

Now compare your sentences to mine.

1-   I don't know how old she is.

2-   I don't know where he went.

3-   I don't know why she left.

4-   I don't know what she said.

5-   I don't know when she is going to leave.

6-   I don't know what country she is from.

7-   I don't know what her name is.

Noun clauses with who, what, whose + be:

A noun or pronoun that follows main verb 'be' in a question comes in front of 'be' in a noun clause.

Example:
--> Who is that boy? I don't know who that boy is.

--> Whose pen is this? I don't know whose pen this is.

A prepositional phrase does not come in front of 'be' in a noun clause.

Example:
--> Who is in the office? I don't know who is in the office.

--> Whose pen is on the desk? I don't know whose pen is on the desk.

Notice that usual word order is not used when the question word is the subject of the question as in 'who' and 'what'.  In this case, the word order in the noun clause is the same as the word order in question.

Be sure to complete the exercises in the assignments.

b) Noun clauses, which begin with if or whether:

When a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause, if is usually used to introduce the clause.

Example:
--> Is Maria at home?

I don't know if Maria is at home.

--> Does this bus go to Los Angeles?

I don't know if this bus goes to Los Angeles.

--> Did Juan go to Mexico?

I wonder if Juan went to Mexico.

Frequently, speakers may add 'or not'.  This comes at the end of the noun clause in sentences with 'if' and immediately after 'whether' in sentences with 'whether'.

Example:
--> I don't know if Maria is at home or not.

--> I don't know whether or not Maria is at home.

Notice that we cannot use 'or not' immediately after 'if'.

c) Noun clauses which begin with that:

A noun clause can be introduced by the word 'that'.

--> I think that Ms. Weiss is a good teacher.

In the sentence above, 'Ms. Weiss is a good teacher' is a noun clause. It is the object of the verb 'think'.

That clauses are frequently used as the object of verbs which express mental activity. Here are some common verbs followed by 'that clauses'.

Assume that   believe that  discover that dream that

Guess that    hear that     hope that     know that

Learn that    notice that   predict that  prove that

Realize that  suppose that  suspect that  think that

There are many more verbs that can be followed by "that" clause.

Here is an exercise for you:

Complete the following with your own words.  Use noun clauses.

1-   I feel that ----

2-   I wonder if -----

3-   You are lucky that -----

4-   It is a fact that ------

5-   I doubt that --------

6-   I am worried that ------

7-   I don't know when ------

8-   I don't know if -------

9-   I regret that -------

10-  I am amazed that -------

Possible completion:

1-   I feel that she will do well on the test.

2-   I wonder if she is coming to the part.

3-   You are lucky that won the lottery.

4-   It is a fact that Mr. Lopez is a good teacher.

5-   I doubt that she will come today.

6-   I am worried that they won't win the game.

7-   I don't know when she will come.

8-   I regret that she failed the test.

9-   I don't know if she lives in New York or not.

10-  I am amazed that we made it to the airport on time.

NOUN CLAUSES 2 (Cümledeki Görevi)

A. Noun clauses perform the same functions in sentences that nouns do:

A noun clause can be a subject of a verb:

What Billy did shocked his friends.

A noun clause can be an object of a verb:

Billy’s friends didn’t know that he couldn’t swim.

A noun clause can be a subject complement:

Billy’s mistake was that he refused to take lessons.

A noun clause can be an object of a preposition:

Mary is not responsible for what Billy did.

A noun clause (but not a noun) can be an adjective complement:

Everybody is sad that Billy drowned.

B. You can combine two independent clauses by changing one to a noun clause and using it in one of the ways listed above.

The choice of the noun clause marker (see below) depends on the type of clause you are changing to a noun clause:

To change a statement to a noun clause use that:

I know + Billy made a mistake =

I know that Billy made a mistake.

To change a yes/no question to a noun clause, use if or whether:

George wonders + Does Fred know how to cook? =

George wonders if Fred knows how to cook.

To change a wh-question to a noun clause, use the wh-word:

I don’t know + Where is George? =

I don’t know where George is.

C. The subordinators in noun clauses are called noun clause markers. Here is a list of the noun clause markers:

that

if, whether

Wh-words: how, what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why

Wh-ever words: however, whatever, whenever, wherever, whichever, whoever, whomever.

D. Except for that, noun clause markers cannot be omitted. Only that can be omitted, but it can be omitted only if it is not the first word in a sentence:

correct:

Billy’s friends didn’t know that he couldn’t swim.

correct:

Billy’s friends didn’t know he couldn’t swim.

correct:

Billy’s mistake was that he refused to take lessons.

correct:

Billy’s mistake was he refused to take lessons.

correct:

That Billy jumped off the pier surprised everyone.

not correct:

* Billy jumped off the pier surprised everyone.

E. Statement word order is always used in a noun clause, even if the main clause is a question:

not correct:

* Do you know what time is it? (Question word order: is it)

correct:

Do you know what time it is? (Statement word order: it is)

not correct:

* Everybody wondered where did Billy go. (Question word order: did Billy go)

correct:

Everybody wondered where Billy went. (Statement word order: Billy went)

F. Sequence of tenses in sentences containing noun clauses:

When the main verb (the verb in the independent clause) is present, the verb in the noun clause is:

future if its action/state is later

He thinks that the exam next week will be hard.

He thinks that the exam next week is going to be hard.

present if its action/state is at the same time

He thinks that Mary is taking the exam right now.

past if its action/state is earlier

He thinks that George took the exam yesterday.

When the main verb (the verb in the independent clause) is past, the verb in the noun clause is:

was/were going to or would + BASE if its action/state is later

He thought that the exam the following week was going to be hard.

He thought that the exam the following week would be hard.

past if its action/state is at the same time

He thought that Mary was taking the exam then.

past perfect if its action/state is earlier

He thought that George had taken the exam the day before.

If the action/state of the noun clause is still in the future (that is, after the writer has written the sentence), then a future verb can be used even if the main verb is past.

The astronaut said that people will live on other planets someday.

If the action/state of the noun clause continues in the present (that is, at the time the writer is (bilgi yelpazesi. com) writing the sentence) or if the noun clause expresses a general truth or fact, the simple present tense can be used even if the main verb is past.

We learned that English is not easy.

The boys knew that the sun rises in the east.

G. Here are some examples of sentences which contain one noun clause (underlined) and one independent clause:

Noun clauses as subjects of verbs:

That George learned how to swim is a miracle.

Whether Fred can get a better job is not certain.

What Mary said confused her parents.

However you learn to spell is OK with me.

Noun clauses as objects of verbs:

We didn’t know that Billy would jump.

We didn’t know Billy would jump.

Can you tell me if Fred is here?

I don’t know where he is.

George eats whatever is on his plate.

Noun clauses as subject complements:

The truth is that Billy was not very smart.

The truth is Billy was not very smart.

The question is whether other boys will try the same thing.

The winner will be whoever runs fastest.

Noun clauses as objects of prepositions:

Billy didn’t listen to what Mary said.

He wants to learn about whatever is interesting.

Noun clauses as adjective complements:

He is happy that he is learning English.

We are all afraid that the final exam will be difficult.