Noun Clauses - 1
• A noun is used as a subject or an object.
• A noun clause is used in the same ways as a noun,
as a subject or an object:
• 1. A. His story
was interesting.
• B. What he said was interesting.
• His story - what he said --> subject
• His story = a noun
• What he said = a noun clause --> has its own
subject (he) and verb (said).
Noun Clauses - 1
• Begin with a question word
• Question: Where does she live? --> Noun
Clause: I don’t know where she lives.
• Does, do, did are used in questions but not
in noun clauses.
• Question: Who is she? --> Noun clause: I
don’t know who she is.
Noun Clauses - 1
• When a yes/no question is changed to a
noun clause, whether/if is used to
introduce the clause:
• Will she come? (Yes/No Question) --> I don’t
know whether she will come / I don’t know
if she will come.
• Whether is more acceptable in formal
English, but if is quite commonly used,
especially in speaking.
Noun Clauses - 1
• Question words may be followed by an
infinitive, e.g.
• a. I don’t know what I should do.
• B. I don’t know what to do.
• C. Jim told us where we could find it.
• D. Jim told us where to find it.
• The meaning expressed by the infinitive is
either should or can/could.
Noun Clauses - 1
• ‘That’ is frequently omitted, especially in speaking, e.g. I
think (that) he is a good actor.
• ‘That’ is not omitted when it introduces a noun clause
used as the subject of a sentence: That the world is round
is a fact.
• More commonly, the word it functions as the subject, and
the noun clause is place at the end of the sentence: It is a
fact that the world is round.
Noun Clauses - 1
• Quoted speech refers to reproducing words
exactly as they were originally spoken.
• Quotation marks (“…”) are used.
• Quoted speech = direct speech
• Reported speech = indirect speech
• a. She said, ”My brother is a student.”
• b. She asked,”When will you be here?”
• c. She said, “Watch out!”