DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR 3

LECTURE 2&3

NOMINAL CLAUSES
AND WHY WE LOVE THEM
 QUIRK’S CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSES
(A UNIVERSITY GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH)

• STRUCTURE: - FINITE - NON – FINITE - VERBLESS

• TYPE: NOMINAL, ADVERBIAL, COMMENT, COMPARISON

• SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF NOMINAL CLAUSES

NOMINAL =

• RELATED TO A NOUN
• LIKE A NOUN
• OF THE NATURE OF
NOUNS
 TYPES OF NOMINAL CLAUSES
• THAT-CLAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU LIKE GRAMMAR
• YES/NO-INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE I ASKED IF THEY LIKED GRAMMAR
• WH-INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE I ASKED THEM WHAT THEY LIKED
• NOMINAL RELATIVE CLAUSE I TEACH THEM WHAT THEY LIKE
• TO-INFINITIVE CLAUSE THEY WANT TO LEARN GRAMMAR
• BARE INFINITIVE CLAUSE I MAKE THEM LEARN GRAMMAR
• ING-CLAUSE/PRES. PARTICIPLE CLAUSE LEARNING GRAMMAR IS COOL
 FUNCTIONS OF NOMINAL CLAUSES :
• THAT-CLAUSE: SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT,
APPOSITIVE, COMPLEMENT OF ADJECTIVE
• WH-INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE: SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT
COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE, COMPLEMENT OF ADJECTIVE,
COMPLEMENT OF PREPOSITION
• YES/NO-INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE (IF, WHETHER): SUBJECT, DIRECT
OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE
• NOMINAL RELATIVE CLAUSE: SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, INDIRECT
OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, OBJECT COMPLEMENT,
APPOSITIVE, COMPLEMENT OF PREPOSITION
 FUNCTIONS CNTD.
• TO-INFINITIVE CLAUSE ({FOR} {SB} TO DO): SUBJECT,
DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE,
COMPLEMENT OF ADJECTIVE
• BARE INFINITIVE CLAUSE: SUBJECT COMPLEMENT (ALL I
DID WAS…), OBJECT COMPLEMENT (I SAW HIM LEAVE)
• ING-CLAUSE: SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT,
APPOSITIVE, COMPLEMENT OF PREPOSITION, COMPLEMENT OF
ADJECTIVE (RARE:SHE IS BUSY WRITING)
 …APPOSITIVE…?!?
-AN APPOSITIVE PHRASE OR CLAUSE IS ONE THAT IS USED
TO REPEAT, REPHRASE, EXTEND, OR EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF THE HEAD
WORD
-ELEMENTS IN APPOSITION HAVE THE SAME REFERENT
-MOST OFTEN, IT IS AN APPOSITIVE POSTMODIFIER FOR NOUNS
MY SISTER, A STAR WARS FAN, REFUSED TO WATCH THE MANDALORIAN
APPOSITIVE CLAUSES USUALLY ”QUOTE” THE CONTENT OF THE HEAD NOUN
MY QUESTION, WHETHER IT WAS TOO FAR FROM THE CANON,
MADE HER FURIOUS.
 THAT-CLAUSES
• OCCUR AS SUBJECT, OBJECT DIRECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT,
APPOSITIVE, ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT;. FOR EXAMPLE…
• CANNOT OCCUR AS A PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT!!!
*SHE INSISTED ON THAT WE RUN FASTER
• CANNOT BE OBJECT COMPLEMENT 
*I THOUGHT HIS ARGUMENT THAT WE OFFENDED HIM
I THOUGHT HIS ARGUMENT TO BE THAT WE OFFENDED HIM

 THAT IS, WITH ANOTHER NP BEFORE THE THAT CLAUSE. THIS ONLY SUPPORTS THE
HYPOTHESIS THAT THERE ARE NO OBJECT COMPLEMENTS - ONLY OBJECT CLAUSES
WITH SUBJECTS
 THAT - OMISSION

• THAT IS OFTEN OMITTED IN SPEECH AND INFORMAL WRITING

• IT CANNOT BE OMITTED WHEN THE CLAUSE IS THE SUBJECT
THAT HE SHOULD RESIGN SURPRISED ME.
* Ø HE SHOULD RESIGN SURPRISED ME.

• WHEN THERE IS AN INTERRUPTING ELEMENT BEFORE THE

SUBORDINATE THAT CLAUSE, WE DO NOT WANT TO OMIT THAT
BECAUSE IT WOULD RESULT IN AMBIGUITY:
I HAD THOUGHT, QUITE RIGHTLY, THAT HE WOULD REJECT HER OFFER
I HAD THOUGHT ?? QUITE RIGHTLY ?? HE WOULD REJECT HER OFFER.
 YES/NO INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES
FORMED WITH IF OR WHETHER

• FUNCTION AS SUBJECT (NOT IF!!!), DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT

COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE

• WHETHER CLAUSES CANNOT BE MADE NEGATIVE, IF – CAN;

I DON’T CARE IF IT DOESN’T RAIN
*I DON’T CARE WHETHER IT DOESN’T RAIN
I DON’T CARE WHETHER IT RAINS OR NOT – OK!

• IF CANNOT START THE SUBJECT:

• *IF HE COMES ON TIME IS NOT THE BIGGEST QUESTION
• WE USE WHETHER, NOT IF, AFTER PREPOSITIONS

THE POLICE SEEMED MAINLY INTERESTED IN WHETHER WE WERE MARRIED

• People are unsure about whether or not it will work. P+whether

People are unsure about whether it will work or not. P+whether

People are unsure about whether it will work. P+whether

*People are unsure about if it will work. P+IF

• People are unsure if it will work. Adj + if = OK!
 WH-INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES

• SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE,

ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT, PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT;
• THEY ARE RELATED TO WH QUESTIONS – THEY ARE EMBEDDED
QUESTIONS, BUT NOT ONLY AFTER REPORTING VERBS (ASKED,
INQUIRED): ALSO AFTER VERBS REPORTING THOUGHT: REMEMBER,
WONDER, KNOW, IMAGINE, HESITATE, ETC.
• INTERROGATIVE – BECAUSE THERE IS AN UNKNOWN PIECE OF
INFORMATION, REALIZED BY THE WH WORD;
I KNOW THAT SOMEONE WAS LYING – I DON’T KNOW WHO WAS LYING.
• WITH PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES – THE PREPOSITION CAN BE
STRANDED:
I FORGOT WHICH SHELF I KEPT IT ON.
I DON’T KNOW WHICH GIRL HE WAS LOOKING AT.

• POSSIBLY NON-FINITE, EXCEPT FOR WHY CLAUSES:

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO / WHERE TO GO / HOW TO DO IT / WHEN TO
START/WHICH TO CHOOSE / WHOM TO ASK /*WHY TO TRY
 NOMINAL RELATIVE CLAUSES
• ARE ALSO INTRODUCED BY WH ELEMENTS, BUT THEY ARE EQUIVALENT
TO NP PHRASES WITH A NORMAL RELATIVE CLAUSE;
• CAN BE SUBJECT, OBJECT DIRECT, OBJECT INDIRECT, SUBJECT
COMPLEMENT, OBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE, PREPOSITIONAL
COMPLEMENT
• THEY CAN CONVEY PARTICULAR OR UNIVERSAL MEANING:
WHOEVER CAN BE THE PERSON WHO, OR ANYBODY WHO;
WHOEVER TOOK MY YOGHURT WILL SOON REGRET IT!
WHOEVER TRIES THIS YOGHURT IS BOUND TO BUY MORE
 WH CLAUSES CAN BE AMBIGUOUS!

THEY ASKED ME WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW:

EITHER A NOMINAL RELATIVE OR NOMINAL INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE:

1) I DIDN’T KNOW ONE THING

AND THEY ASKED ME ABOUT THAT THING PRECISELY:
A - TELL US ABOUT NOMINAL CLAUSES!
B - OOPS… SORRY, NO CLUE
2) I DIDN’T KNOW ONE THING
AND THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS:
A - WHAT DON’T YOU KNOW?
B - I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT NOMINAL CLAUSES 
 TO-INFINITIVE CLAUSES

• SUBJECT, DIRECT OBJECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE,

ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT
• CAN’T BE PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT!!!
* SHE INSISTED ON TO RUN
• THE SUBJECT CAN BE INTRODUCED BY FOR BUT DOESN’T HAVE TO:
FOR HIM TO WIN IS IMPOSSIBLE
THE IDEA IS Ø TO WIN IN THE FIRST MATCH
• …BUT NOT WHEN THE CLAUSE IS OBJECT DIRECT:
I WANT HIM TO WIN / *FOR HIM TO WIN;
 NOMINAL –ING=PRESENT PARTICIPLE CLAUSES
• SUBJECT, OBJECT DIRECT, SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, APPOSITIVE,
PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT, ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT;
• SOMETIMES WITH A SUBJECT:
EITHER GENITIVE (MORE FORMAL) OR OBJECTIVE CASE!
DO YOU MIND MY ASKING / ME ASKING ?
• THE PRONOUN IN THE CLAUSAL SUBJECT IN THE OBJECTIVE CASE IS
INFORMAL (BUT ACTUALLY USED QUITE OFTEN…)
HIM/HIS SINGING AT THE WEDDING WOULD BE A HORROR
• USUALLY WE DON’T USE THE GENITIVE SUBJECT IN INANIMATE OR ABSTRACT
NOUN PHRASES:
THIS RESULTS FROM THE THEORY’S BEING ATTACKED BY THE CHURCH;
 W E L L D O N E !!!

THAT WAS TOUGH…

NOW IT’S TIME TO PRACTICE!