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Exercises on Noun Clauses (GL pp. 334-339)
Answers
Identifying Clauses
Brackets [] are used to delimit Independent Clauses (IC) and Dependent Clauses (DC).
1. [IC There’s no doubt [DC that American education does not meet high standards in such
basic skills as mathematics and language]]. (Ho, p. 126)
2. [[DC If I were an employer] IC I would rather employ graduates [DC who have this range
and curiosity] than those [DC who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades]].
(Zinsser, p. 141)
3. [IC Students themselves are so conditioned to grading [DC that they soon become
willing dupes of the system]]. (Lean, p. 134)
4. [IC Individuals of either sex [DC who have a trusted friend [DC to whom they can
express thoughts, feelings and opinions honestly]] are less likely to report symptoms of
depression and loneliness than those [DC who do not have the benefit of this
experience]]. (Block, p. 71)
5. [[DC When you tossed on our desks writing upon which you had not labored], IC we
read it and even responded, [DC as tough you earned a response]]. (Neusner, p. 12)
Finding and Determining the Purpose of Sentence Fragments
Fragments:
When there is no longer a place that is yours in the world.
When you know no longer where your friend is to be found.
In this text, fragments are used intentionally. In prose, writers may use fragments “for emphasis
or to express a theme” (GL p. 336). Here, fragments are used to express the consequences of
war upon life.
Turning Sentence Fragments into Sentences
1. I was pleased by the warm greeting I received from my American sponsor, whom I had
also known from my previous job in Vietnam.
2. I disagree with Moore’s argument that instructors’ focus on self-esteem is connected to
the problem of underprepared students. It is much more complex than that.
3. Neusner and Zinsser both discuss college students, but they reveal different attitudes
toward them, especially when it comes to the issue of how hard they work.
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4. Ho argues that freedom to think is an important component of education and that
creativity is crucial as well.
Punctuating between Clauses
Note that in this exercise, more than one answer is possible.
1. He would break everything down into pieces and start from scratch; he would then build
on that slowly so that I would understand.
2. In the past, Americans had a tendency to think that English was the only language worth
knowing and that foreigners were forced to learn it. As a result, they did not even try to
learn another language.
3. However, because I am not a supernatural being, I could not take the stress.
4. My decision to apply early to college was meant to lighten the burden. Unfortunately, the
three essays and several short questions added to my unbearable load.