A noun clause is a sentence or part of a sentence that functions as a noun. It can be the subject or object of a verb, and there are three main types: those beginning with question words, “if” or “whether,” and “that.” Noun clauses are identified by locating the verb and asking who or what about it. They can also be used as object prepositions or subject complements.
Essentially, a noun clause is a sentence or part of a sentence that serves as a noun. The nominal clause works in the same way as a noun or a pronoun, establishing a subject or an object in the sentence. A noun is generally accepted to be a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, the noun serves as the main focus.
For the most part, a noun will respond to the who or what of the verb, which is the action word of the sentence. Noun clauses are generally the same as nouns, except that they consist of two or more words and nouns are single words. For example, in the sentence “Leslie didn’t know that her friend of hers could sing,” the word “Leslie” is a noun and the sentence “that she could sing” is a noun clause.
The easiest way to identify a sentence as a noun clause is to locate the verb in the sentence and then ask who or what about it. “Know” serves as a verb in the example sentence. The answer to the question “What didn’t Leslie know?” is “that her friend could sing”. Thus, “that her friend might sing” is a noun clause in this sentence.
There are three main types of noun clauses. The first type of noun clause begins with a question word, such as who, what, where, or when. In the sentence “It doesn’t matter where we go to dinner,” the sentence “where we go to dinner” is a noun clause.
Other noun clauses begin with “if” or “if,” as in the sentence “He can’t decide whether to go.” “Decide” is the verb in this sentence. “Where to go” explains what you can’t decide and is a noun proposition.
The third main type of noun clause begins with “that”. The first example, “Leslie didn’t know her friend could sing,” shows this kind of proposition. “That her friend could sing” works as an object in this sentence.
Just like nouns, noun clauses can operate in different ways within a sentence. A noun clause can take the place of a noun and function as the subject or object of a verb. In the sentence “What the team did shocked its fans”, the sentence “what the team did” is the object of the sentence and acts as a noun clause in place of a single noun.
Noun clauses can also be used as object prepositions in a sentence or as subject complements. In the sentence “The players’ mistake was that they refused to play zone defense”, the sentence “that they refused to play zone defense” is a subject complement. While “players’ error” is actually the subject in the sentence, “who refused to play zone defense” is a complement to that argument.
While name clauses can be somewhat of an attempt at understanding, they are relatively easy to identify once you understand what they are and how they work. Sometimes it takes more than a word to fully express an idea or to fully answer a question. When this happens, a noun clause is often used instead of the noun itself.
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