A Complex Sentence : Noun Clauses CHAPTER VI A COMPLEX SENTENCE: NOUN CLAUSES The Objectives

and Expectations The objectives of this chapter are to provide the students with the structures of noun
clauses. Having read this chapter, it is expected that the students will be able to identify the internal
structures of noun clauses, and their functions in English complex sentences, and the internal structures
of a compound-complex sentence. 6.1 Introduction As the name suggests, a noun clause is a
subordinate clause which functions as a noun, or it replaces a noun in the main clause. The noun which
is replaced by a noun clause in the main clause may function as a subject, an object, or an object of
preposition. As a subordinate clause, it must be embedded to an independent clause that we call a main
clause. Accordingly, a noun clause cannot stand alone as a (simple) sentence. Let us pay attention to the
following sentences. (6.1) a. We do not know the information b. We do not know what he said
vesterday. Main Clause Noun Clause Lin As demonstrated in the example above, the noun phrase the
information' in (6.la) is the object of the verb know". This sentence is a simple sentence since it only has
one finite verb 'do'. The noun phrase *the information' is replaced by a clause 'what he said yesterday'
in (6.1b). The new sentence is a complex sentence because it has two unequal clauses; they are the
main clause we do not know" and the subordinate clause "what he said yesterday'. As the subordinate
clause "what he said yesterday replaces a noun, so it is named as a noun clause. Unlike an adverb clause
or adjective clause, a noun clause is never separated by a comma from its main clause though it
precedes the main clause. As for any other subordinate clauses, a noun clause is always in the normal
word order. Therefore, it is the main clause which may be in the statement or question determines the
47

A Coursebook on English Sentence Structures end-of-sentence punctuation. For instance, if the main
clause is a question, a question mark is used, as presented below. (6.1) c. Do you know what he said
yesterday? The question mark punctuation in (6.lc) is not determined by the noun clause in which the
question word 'what" is used, but it is determined by the main clause which is in the question word
order. As demonstrated in (6.1), a main clause is composed of "Subject+ Finite Verb (+ Complement). A
noun clause, as any other subordinate clause, is composed of "Subordinator + Subject + Finite Verb (+
Complement)". However, the element 'Subject' is sometimes deleted if the subordinator also functions
as the subject of the noun clause. Please compare the following sentences. (6.2) a. Do you know what he
said yesterday? b. Do you know who said the yesterday? In (6.2a), the subordinator what is followed by
the subject he" and the finite verb said', but the subordinator "who' in (6.26) is directly followed by the
finite verb 'said'. The subject of the noun clause in (6.2) is the question word 'who'. In other words, the
question word 'who" in (6.2b) has a double function, as a subordinator, to connect the subordinate
clause to its main clause, as well as a subject of the noun clause. Further discussion of a double-function
subordinator will be further presented in the discussion of noun clause subordinators. 6.2 Noun Clause
Subordinators As any other subordinators, a noun clause is introduced by a subordinator to relate
subordinate clause to its main clause in a complex sentence. There are three main groups of noun clause
subordinators. They are (1) the "wh-question word" group. (2) the "if/whether (or not) group. and (3)
"that" group. The following table presents the types of the noun clause subordinators and the types of
sentences they are derived. 48

A Complex Sentence Noun Clauses Table 6.1: Noun clause subordinators Noun Clauses derived from
Informative questions Subordinators wh-questions: who, whom, when, where, why, which, what, and
how, If, whether Yes/no questions Statement that Each type of noun clause which is derived from
informative question, yes/no question, and statement is presented below. Let us pay attention to
following sentences. (6.2) a. I don't know "Why didn't he come?" (Direct speech) b. I don't know why he
didn't come. (Indirect speech) Noun Clause Main Clause (6.3) a. I don't know, "Did he come? (Direct
speech) b. I don't know whether he came (or not). (Indirect speech). Main Clause He said, "I will come'
(Direct specch) b. He said Main Clause Noun Clause (6.4) a. (that) he would come. (Indirect speech).
Noun Clause From the sentences above, it can be noted that noun clauses are always in the normal
word orders although they are derived from question forms (6.2b) an (6.3b). The question word, such as
"why in (6.2b) has changed its function from a question word into a subordinator. to connect the
subordinate clause to its main clause. The subordinator 'that' as in (6.4b) can be dropped, because it
only functions as a clause marker. As a noun clause replaces a noun of the main clause, it can function as
a noun does. Accordingly, a noun clause may function as a subject, an object of a verb. as well as an
object of preposition in the complex sentences. The subordinators which are derived from wh-questions
can function as the subject of the noun clause verb, and as the non-subject. If it functions as the subject
of the subordinate clause, the subordinator cannot be followed by another subject. In contrast, if it
functions as non-subject, it is must be followed by a subject in the subordinate clause. Let us pay
attention to the following sentences. 49

A Coursebook on English Sentence Structures (6.5) a. We will inform you who will meet vou in the
airport. b. We will inform you whom you will meet in the airport. c. We will inform you "who he will
meet you in the airport. (6.6) a. I want to know what makes you happy. b. I want to know what you did
for him. I want to know "what it makes you happy. c. As demonstrated in the exumples above, the
subordinator 'who' and 'what" act as the subjects of the subordinate clauses 'meet' and 'makes', the
pronoun 'you' are the objects of the verbs respectively. An attempt to supply another subject is not
allowed because it will produce a double subject (ungrammatical sentences) as indicted by the asterisk
mark (*) in sentences (6.5c) and (6.6c), In contrast, the subordinators 'whom' and 'what' in (6.5b) and
(6.6b) are used as the objects (non-subjects) of the verbs 'meet' and *did" respectively. Consequently.
the subordinate clauses do not have subjects, and they really need subjects. If, the subjects 'you' in
(6.5b) and (6.6b) are deleted, the sentences become ill-forms or grammatically incorrect. However, it is
not all wh-question words can be the subjects of the subordinate clauses; they are only 'who (for
people), 'what (for things) and 'which' (for people, or things) (Phillips, 1996:83). 6.3 Functions of Noun
Clauses in the Complex Sentences As a noun does, a noun clause can function either as a subject, an
object of a verb, or as an object of preposition. Each function of noun clause in a complex sentence
becomes the concern of the following discussion. 6.3.1 Noun Clauses as Subjects Like a noun, a noun
clause is often used to be the subject of a main clause. In this structure, a noun clause replaces the
subject of the main clause. Let pay attention to the following sentences. 50

A Complex Sentence: Noun Cluses (6.7) The statement makes me happy. replaced by b. What he said
last night makes me happy. (6.8) a. I does not change the situation. replaced by b. Whether he comes or
not does not change the situation. (6.9) The man is my uncle. replaced by b. Who came here last night is
my uncle. (6.10) a. Mr. Parsons comes from Australia replaced by b. Whom you talked to last night
comes from Australia. As illustrated by the sentences above, the subordinate clauses or noun clauses
replace the nouns as the subjects of the main clauses. In the noun clause structure, it can be found a
double function subordinator, as well as a single function subordinator. 6.3.2 Noun Clauses Functioning
as Objects In addition to the subject function, a noun clause can also be used as the object of a verb, and
the object of a preposition. The structure of a complex sentence with a noun clause as an object of a
verb can be presented as follows. 51
A Coursebook on English Sentence Structures Subject + Finite Verb + Object Main Clause Sub. Clause
(Noun Clause) (6.11) I don't know (6.12) They talk about why he didn't come. why he didn't come. In
(6.11), there are two clauses, 'I don't know' and he didn't come'. These two clauses are joined with a
subordinator 'why'. This subordinator makes the second clause depending on the first one, or the
second clause is embedded to the first one, In other words, the second clause cannot stand alone as a
sentence. Therefore, this kind of subordinator is called as "subordinator' that becomes the part of the
second clause, or the subordinate clause. The function of the sub clause in (6.12) is to complete the
meaning of the main verb (the verb of the main clause) know", so the sub clause functions as the object
of the verb (or just called as an object). In (6.12), the sub clause completes the preposition 'about', so
the subordinate clause functions as an object of preposition. 6.4 Compound Complex Sentences A
compound complex sentence is a sentence which consists of compound and complex clauses. It means
that the sentence has at least one coordinator (to join the equal clauses), and one subordinator to join
the unequal clauses (a main clause and a subordinate clause). Let us pay attention to the following
sentences. (6.13) Mary Ann's stories of the sea touched Philip's imagination. (6.14) Paul will go to
cinema tonight, or he will stay at home to read a book. (6.15) His uncle said that evil communication
corrupted good manners (6.16) One evening he asked whether he might go home with her, but his aunt
feared that he might catch something. As demonstrated by the sentences in (6.13) to (6.15). sentences
can be classified according to the number of the clauses and their relationship among them in the
sentence. In (6.13), it is only found one clause (one subject and one finite verb), they are Mary Ann's
stories of the sea' and "touched' respectively. Accordingly, this kind of sentence is called as a simple
sentence In sentence (6.14), we have wo clauses: (Paul will go tonight) and (hea book). These clauses are
equal, one is not dominated by another, and therefore they connected by a coordinator or which show a
choice. Like in sentence (6.14), sentence (6.15) also consists of two 52

A Complex Sentence Noun Clauses clauses. However, they are different because the clauses in (6.15) are
unequal; the second clause is dominated by the first one, so they are joined with a subordinator that'
rather than with 'a coordinator". Therefore, this kind of a sentence is named as a complex sentence.
Finally, sentence (6.16) comprises of four clauses. The first two of the clauses are uncqual, and so are
the second two clauses. In addition to the unequal clause relationships, the sentence also indicates the
equal relationship among the clauses which are signaled by the coordinator "but". In a short, sentence
(6.16) can be claimed as a compound-complex sentence. Summary A noun clause is a subordinate clause
which replaces a noun in a complex sentence. In a complex sentence, a noun clause can replace a noun
functions as a subject, an object, as well as an object of preposition. There are three groups of
subordinators that can be used in noun clauses, wh-questions whetherfif. and that. The subordinator
wh-questions may function as the subject or non-subject of the subordinate clause Ifr they function
subject, in any other subject cannot be added to the clause The subordinator that" is often deleted from
a noun clause and it seems that the complex sentence does not have a subordinator. A sentence may
consist of one clause (a simple sentence). two cqual clauses or more (a compound sentence) wo unequal
clauses or more (a complex sentence) and equal and unequal clauses (a compound-complex sentence).
53

A Coursebook on English Sentence Structures Exercises 6: Noun clauses Each of the sentences below
contains more than one clause. Indicate whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F). If it is false,
change it into the correct one, and put a box around the noun clauses, then bold the subordinator.
Number I and 2 have been done for you. 1. When the season starts is determined by the weather.
Answer: (a) It is true (T) (b) When the season starts is determined by the weather. (T) 2. What did he say
yesterday makes me happy. Answer: (a) It is false (F) (b) What he said yesterday makes me happy (T). 3.
The manual how the device should be built. 4. That the professor has not yet decided when the paper is
due. 5. Why the condition of the patient deteriorated so rapidly it was not explained. 6. What you did
was wrong. 7. The contract will be awarded is the question to be answered at the meeting 8. The
motorist was unable to discover who he had struck his car. 9. The employee was unhappy about what
was added to his job description. 10. What happened was great. 54