CLAUSES

UNIT 1

https://lemongrad.com/what-clause/
A what-clause is a noun clause starting with the marker
word what.
Since it’s a noun clause, it can be
• subject
• direct object of verb
• object of preposition
• subject complement, etc. in a sentence.
Examples: What you do is of no interest to me.
 What is a noun clause?
Also called nominal clause, a noun clause is a
dependent clause that can take the place of a noun in a
sentence.

Put simply, it can do whatever a noun (or pronoun)

can. If you remember, a dependent clause contains a
subject and a verb of its own, but it can’t stand as a
sentence. Example:
What you do is of no interest to me. [Noun clause as
subject]
What’s the subject of this sentence?

What you do is of no interest to me.

Is it you that is of no interest to me? Or is it What you do that is of

no interest to me?

What you do, clearly. So, What you do is the subject of the
sentence, and it’s a clause because it contains subject (you) and
verb (do) of its own.

Moreover, the clause is a noun clause because it functions like a

noun: the clause is the subject in the sentence. And what’s the verb
of the sentence or the main clause? Is.
The police finally found who was behind the crime. [Noun clause as
direct object]

The police found what. They found who was behind the crime.

So, who was behind the crime is the direct object of the sentence, and it’s
a clause because it contains subject (who) and verb (was) of its own.

Moreover, it’s a noun clause because it functions like a noun: the clause
is the direct object in the sentence. The sentence or the main clause
has The police as the subject, found as the verb, and who was behind the
crime as direct object. Noun clauses, like nouns, don’t modify anything;
adjective and adverb clauses do. They occupy different slots of a noun
(subject, object, subject complement, etc.) in a sentence. 
A what-clause is a noun clause starting with the marker word what.
Since it’s a noun clause, it can be
• subject
• direct object of verb
• object of preposition
• subject complement, etc. in a sentence.
Examples:
• What you do is of no interest to me. [what-clause functioning as
subject]
• Accept what can’t be changed. [what-clause functioning as direct
object of verb]
• Be grateful for what you have. [what-clause functioning as object
of preposition]
Subject

What you learnt is probably obsolete now, so don’t limit your children to your own
learning.
What you did was beyond our wildest expectations.
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

Direct object of verb

Those who complain a lot get what they want.

Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals.
If you do what you love, work will not seem work.
Indirect object of verb
What-clause appearing as indirect object of a verb is rare. Here is an example of what
it looks like.
We will give what you proposed due consideration. [due consideration is direct
object; what you proposed is indirect object.]

Object of preposition
A preposition always takes a noun as its object, and what-clause can play this role.
Don’t copy others to fit into what others want to see.
This is because he thinks that he already knows the best about what to do.
If you work only on regular projects, you won’t be challenged and hence not become
better at what you do.
Degrees matter far less than what most think.