GUDANG BACA

Most people are comfortable with the idea of a noun, but they may not feel so confident when it comes to the noun clause. A noun clause is a group of words acting together as a noun. These clauses are always dependent clauses. That is, they do not form a complete sentence.

The best way to familiarize yourself with these types of clauses is to take a look at some sample sentences containing noun clauses at work.

noun clause is a dependent (or subordinate clause) that works as a noun. It can be the subject of a sentence, an object, or a complement. Like all nouns, the purpose of a noun clause is to name a person, place, thing, or idea. Sometimes when we want to name something, a single word won’t do – sometimes we need a group of words to name something. That is why we use noun clauses.

Here is a sentence with two more noun clauses:

I do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. – Oprah Winfrey

The two noun clauses are: “what the future holds” and “who holds the future”. In both cases, the clauses are doing what nouns can do – acting as direct objects.

You must unlearn what you have learned.

So, what must Luke unlearn? “…what you have learned.” This clause is a noun clause. It is a direct object in this sentence.

Noun clauses are used to name something when a single word isn't enough. Again, they're always going to be dependent clauses and these clauses can't stand alone. If a dependent clause stands alone, it forms a sentence fragment, not a full sentence. While an independent clause can act as a sentence by itself, a dependent clause cannot.

One of the easiest ways to spot a noun clause is to look for these words:
How
That
What
Whatever
When
Where
Whether
Which
Whichever
Who
Whoever
Whom
Whomever
Why

Beyond these keywords, you can also spot a noun clause based on its function within the sentence. Let's take a look at some of the most prominent roles of noun clauses.

Subject of a Verb
A noun clause can act as the subject of a verb. For example:

What Alicia said made her friends cry.
What Megan wrote surprised her family.
How the boy behaved was not very polite.
When there's a verb in the sentence, you must find the subject.

In the first sentence, we can ask, "What made her friends cry?" The answer is "what Alicia said." Therefore, "what Alicia said" is the subject of the verb "made."

In the second sentence, we can ask, "What surprised her family?" The answer is "what Megan wrote."

In the third sentence, we can ask, "What was not very polite?" The answer is "how the boy behaved."

Object of a Verb
In the same vein, noun clauses can also act as the direct object of a verb:

She didn't realize that the directions were wrong.

He didn't know why the stove wasn't working.

They now understand that you should not cheat on a test. Once again, you can use the method of questioning to demonstrate how the noun clause is being used.

In the first sentence, we can ask, "What didn't she realize?" and the answer is "that the directions were wrong." Therefore, "that the directions were wrong" is the object of the verb.

In the second sentence, we can ask, "What didn't he know?" and the answer is "why the stove wasn't working."

In the third sentence, we can ask, "What do they understand?" and the answer is "that you should not cheat on a test."

Subject Complement
A noun clause can also serve as a subject complement. A subject complement will always modify, describe, or complete the subject of a clause.

Carlie's problem was that she didn't practice enough.

Harry's crowning achievement at school was when he became class president.

Darla's excuse for being late was that she forgot to set her alarm.

Do you see what questions these noun clauses answer and how they relate to the subject?

What was Carlie's problem? She didn't practice enough.

What was Harry's crowning achievement? It was when he became class president.

What was Darla's excuse for being late? It was that she forgot to set her alarm.

Without these clauses, the sentences would not be complete thoughts.

Object of a Preposition
Noun clauses also act as objects of a preposition. In the examples below, you'll see the prepositions "of" and "for" in action.

Harry is not the best provider of what Margie needs.

Josephine is not responsible for what Alex decided to do.

Allie is the owner of that blue car parked outside. Again, the best way to understand this concept is by asking the appropriate questions.

In the first sentence, we can ask, "Harry is not the best provider of what?" The answer is "what Margie needs."

In the second sentence, we can ask, "Josephine is not responsible for what?" The answer is "what Alex decided to do."

In the third sentence, we can ask, "Allie is the owner of what?" The answer is "that blue car parked outside."

Each of these sentences could be complete before the addition of the prepositions. However, the prepositions are introduced to provide further detail and the noun clauses act as the objects of these prepositions.

Adjective Complement
Last but not least, a noun clause can also function as an adjective complement, modifying a verb, adjective, or adverb.

Jerry knows why Elaine went to the store.

They're perfectly happy where they live now.

Geoffrey runs so quickly that he can outrun his dog.

The adjective complement is providing more information about the verb, adjective or adverb that precedes it.

In the first sentence, we can ask, "What does Jerry know?" In this case, "know" is the verb being modified. The thing that he knows is "why Elaine went to the store."
In the second sentence.

For example :

I like what I see.
(Like all clauses, a noun clause has a subject and a verb. In this example, the subject of the clause is "I" and the verb is "see.")

I know that patience has its limits.
(In this example, the subject of the clause is "patience" and the verb is "has.")

Definition of "Clause"

A clause has a subject and a verb and functions as one part of speech.
(It follows therefore that a noun clause functions as a noun in a sentence.)

Remember, because a noun clause is a clause, you should be able to find both a subject and a verb. Let’s do a quick review of these two important terms.

1) subject is what the clause or sentence is about. The subject is often (but not always) the thing performing the action of the verb.

Example 1

What Peter loves most about reading mysteries is how the authors leave clues for careful readers.
In this example, the first clause is about Peter, and the second clause is about authors.

2) verb is an action word, or a state-of-being word.

Example 1

Morning time is when I feel most energetic.
In this example, ‘feel’ is the action word in the sentence.

Noun clauses always begin with certain words.
The most common of these words are words that we also use to form questions:

Who
What
Why
Where
When
We can also begin noun clauses with pronouns:

Which
That
Whoever
Whatever
Wherever
Whenever
However, it is essential to understand that just because you see one of these words does not mean that the word is automatically beginning a noun clause. When identifying the type of a given clause, be careful that you look at its function, not just the words. A clause beginning with the same words as a noun clause may have a different function.

Example 1

Where I come from is not important.
The town where I come from is famous for its pizza.
In example (a) we have a noun clause. The function of the clause is to name the subject of the sentence. On the other hand, in example (b) we have an adjective clause. The function here is to describe ‘the town’.