Clauses

Noun Clauses

A noun clause does a noun’s job, but it has its own subject and verb. You use noun clauses to report what someone thinks, says or asks (I think that…, She asked where…). In a diagram the clause stands on a pedestal, as a gerund or infinitive phrase does in the subject or object slot.

What you’ll learn

Recognise a noun clause and the words that introduce it
Work out which noun slot the clause is filling
Draw a noun clause on a pedestal
Tell 'that' as a subordinating conjunction from 'that' as a relative pronoun
Recognise a noun clause that has no 'that'
Put an indirect question in statement word order

Noun clauses: a clause where a noun would go

Everyone knows the answer and Everyone knows that the ferry left have the same shape. In the first the direct object is a noun; in the second it is a whole clause.

A noun clause can fill any slot a noun can. It usually starts with that, whether, if or a wh- word. Here are the six slots, each with the label the Roles exercise uses:

Subject: Whoever arrives first will unlock the door.
Direct object: Everyone knows that the ferry left.
Pred. nominative: The trouble is that she doesn’t do her homework.
Object of preposition: Jeff is always uncertain about which pages he should study.
Appositive: It is clear that Marta was right. The clause says what It means; see appositives.
Adverbial objective: She wondered whether he was sorry he had hurt her. The clause modifies the adjective sorry, as an adverb would; see adverbial objectives.

The Roles exercise gives the clause a second label, Noun clause, for what it is.

Replace the clause with 'something'
Everyone knows something still works, so that the ferry left fills a noun slot.
Work out which slot
Ask the question you would ask about a one-word noun. “Knows what?” → direct object.
Draw the clause on a pedestal in that slot
Draw the clause on its own base line above the main line. A stem runs down from its verb to a small triangle, which stands in the slot.

“Everyone knows that the ferry left.”

Reed-Kellogg — the clause raised into the object slot

nsubj Nominal subject
ROOT Root of the sentence
mark Marker
det Determiner
ccomp Clausal complement

Dependency — left is the ccomp of knows, and that is its mark

Comparing the two views

Reed-Kellogg stands the whole clause on a pedestal in the object slot, so you see one clause raised above the other. The tree has no pedestal: the clause’s verb, left, is the ccomp of knows, and the rest of the clause hangs from left. Both views agree that that has no job in the clause. The diagram puts it on a short line, and the tree labels it mark.

Two kinds of that

The word that can start a noun clause or an adjective clause, and the two are drawn very differently. In a noun clause, that is a subordinating conjunction: it joins the clause to the sentence and has no job inside it. In an adjective clause, that is a relative pronoun: it is also the subject or the object of its clause.

Everyone knows that the ferry left. — take away that, and the ferry left is still complete. A noun clause; the tree labels that mark.
the violin that she inherited — take away that, and inherited has no object. An adjective clause; that is the dobj of inherited.
She ignored the fact that the bus was late. — this clause also follows a noun, but the bus was late is complete. It says what the fact is (The fact is that the bus was late), so it is a noun clause in apposition with fact.

Noun clauses without that

After verbs such as think, say, know and hope, English often leaves out that, especially in speech. The clause is still a noun clause in the same slot:

Nina said she was tired. = Nina said that she was tired.
We hope you enjoy the course. = We hope that you enjoy the course.

Spanish keeps que here (Nina dijo que estaba cansada), so these clauses are easy to miss. Look for a verb followed directly by a new subject and its verb, then put that back to check.

Clauses beginning with a wh- word, and indirect questions

Whoever arrives first will unlock the door. — the whole clause whoever arrives first is the subject of will unlock. And whoever, like a relative pronoun, does a job inside its own clause: it is the subject of arrives.

So a wh- noun clause combines both patterns. The clause stands on a pedestal. The wh- word has a job inside the clause, so it goes in a slot or on a slant, not on a short line. The wh- words are who, whom, whose, what, which, when, where, why and how, and the -ever forms such as whoever and whatever.

“Whoever arrives first will unlock the door.”

Reed-Kellogg — a clause on a pedestal in the subject slot

nsubj Nominal subject
csubj Clausal subject
advmod Adverbial modifier
aux Auxiliary
ROOT Root of the sentence
det Determiner
dobj Direct object

Dependency — arrives is the csubj of unlock; Whoever is the nsubj of arrives

Comparing the two views

Both views show two subjects, one inside the other. Reed-Kellogg writes whoever in the subject slot of the raised clause. The whole clause stands on a pedestal in the subject slot of the main line. The tree shows the same two jobs with labels: arrives is the csubj (clausal subject) of unlock, and whoever is the nsubj of arrives.

A noun clause can put a question inside a sentence. Such a clause is an indirect question. Inside it, use the word order of a statement: the subject comes before the verb, with no extra do, does or did. A yes-or-no question becomes a clause with whether or if.

What does Omar want? → Nobody knows what Omar wants. Here what is the direct object of wants.
Where is the exit? → Diego knows where the exit is. Here where modifies the verb is, so it hangs on a slant under it.
Is the museum free? → I don’t know whether the museum is free. Like that, whether and if have no job inside the clause, so they go on the short line.

Common mistakes with noun clauses

Spanish speakers often make these four errors with noun clauses. Each item shows the error (✗) and a correct version (✓).

Use statement order in an indirect question. Inside the clause, Spanish puts the verb first (¿Sabes dónde está la biblioteca?); English puts the subject first. ✗ Do you know where is the library? ✓ Do you know where the library is?
No extra do, does or did. ✗ I wonder what time does the concert start. ✓ I wonder what time the concert starts.
No that clause after want. Spanish says quiere que leamos; English uses an object and a to-infinitive. ✗ Our teacher wants that we read more. ✓ Our teacher wants us to read more.
Use It when the clause comes at the end. Spanish needs no word before es obvio; English needs It. ✗ Is obvious that Omar is tired. ✓ It is obvious that Omar is tired.

Quick check

Find the noun clause in each sentence and name the slot it fills. (a) What Santiago cooked was delicious. (b) The problem is that nobody brought a map. (c) Priya thinks the test was easy.
Answer
(a) What Santiago cooked is the subject: Something was delicious still works. (b) that nobody brought a map is a predicate nominative: it follows the linking verb is and says what the problem is. (c) the test was easy is the direct object of thinks (thinks what?). It has no that: Priya thinks that the test was easy means the same.
What does that do in each sentence? (a) Omar forgot the password that Nina chose. (b) Omar forgot that Nina chose the password.
Answer
(a) It is a relative pronoun. Take it away, and chose has no object: that is the object (Nina chose the password), and which fits in its place. The clause is an adjective clause that modifies password. (b) It is a subordinating conjunction. Nina chose the password is complete without it, and which does not fit. The clause is a noun clause, the direct object of forgot.
In a Reed-Kellogg diagram of Diego asked what the teacher meant, where does the pedestal stand, and where does what go?
Answer
The pedestal stands in the direct-object slot of asked, because the clause answers “asked what?”. The clause has its own base line on top: teacher | meant | what. The word what has a job inside the clause: the teacher meant something. So it goes in the direct-object slot after meant, not on a short line above the verb.
Correct this sentence: I don’t remember where did I park the car.
Answer
I don’t remember where I parked the car. In an indirect question the order is the order of a statement: the subject I comes before the verb. Did disappears, so the verb itself shows the past (parked). Only a direct question puts did before the subject: Where did I park the car?

Key terms

Noun clause: A dependent clause filling a noun slot. In the tree its verb is the csubj of the main verb when the clause is the subject. Otherwise it is usually the ccomp of a verb or adjective, the pcomp of a preposition, or the acl of a noun such as fact. Everyone knows that the ferry left. — object. Whoever arrives first will unlock the door. — subject.
See: Core Arguments
Subordinator: A short name for a subordinating conjunction. In a noun clause it is that, whether or if: it introduces the clause and has no job inside it. Some grammars call these words expletives. Relation mark. Everyone knows that the ferry left. Ask whether the shop is open.
See: Adverb Clauses
Indirect question: A question placed inside a sentence as a noun clause, in statement word order: the subject comes before the verb, with no extra do, does or did. It starts with a wh- word, or with whether or if for a yes-or-no question. Nobody knows what Omar wants. I don’t know whether the museum is free.
Pedestal: The stand raising a construction into a single slot. Noun clauses, gerund phrases and infinitive phrases all use it in the subject or object slot. After a preposition, a noun clause keeps its pedestal, but a gerund has none. Everyone knows that the ferry left. — the clause stands on a pedestal in the object slot. Whoever arrives first will unlock the door. — in the subject slot.
See: Reed-Kellogg Diagrams · Gerunds · Infinitives
ccomp: “Clausal complement” — a clause completing a verb, with its own subject. Contrast xcomp, whose subject comes from the main clause. Everyone knows that the ferry left. — left is the ccomp of knows. She said that the bridge closed.
See: Core Arguments

Practice on a real sentence

This is a noun clause inside a noun clause, and the smaller one has no that. In Roles, find each clause and the slot it fills. The larger one follows wondered; the smaller one follows sorry. In Dependencies, look for two ccomp relations.

Loading the practice sentence…