A noun clause is an entire clause
which takes the place of a noun in another clause or phrase.
A dependent clause that
functions as a noun that is, as a subject, object, or a complement) ithin a
sentence. Also known as a nominal clause.
A. Noun clauses perform the same
functions in sentences that nouns do:
A noun clause can be a subject of a verb:
What Billy did shocked his friends.
A noun clause can be an object of a verb:
Billy’s friends didn’t know that he couldn’t swim.
A noun clause can be a subject complement:
Billy’s mistake was that he refused to take lessons.
A noun clause can be an object of a preposition:
Mary is not responsible for what Billy did.
A noun clause (but not a noun) can be an adjective
complement:
Everybody is sad that Billy drowned.
B. You can combine two independent
clauses by changing one to a noun clause and using it in one of the ways listed
above.
The choice of the noun clause marker (see below) depends on the type of
clause you are changing to a noun clause:
To change a statement to a noun clause
use that:
I know + Billy made a mistake =
I know that Billy made a mistake.
To change a yes/no question to a noun
clause, use if or whether:
George wonders + Does Fred know how to cook? =
George wonders if Fred knows how to cook.
To change a wh-question to a noun
clause, use the wh-word:
I don’t know + Where is George? =
I don’t know where George is.
