Noun Clauses 

Ever since you first toddled into a school house door, your teachers have been telling you
that a noun is a person, place or thing. 

Unfortunately, some erudite linguists have demonstrated that such a definition is entirely
too simple. 

But since we aren’t linguists, we will lock those fellows in the closet (metaphorically
speaking, of course) and hang on to the definition we know: A noun is a person place or
thing. 

Remember

1. A noun is a part of speech.

2. Subjects and objects are parts of a sentence.

3. Nouns function as subjects or objects.

4. Therefore: Nouns = subjects or objects.

Example:

The burrito gave me heartburn.

("Burrito" and "heartburn" are the nouns in this sentence. "Gave" is the verb and "burrito"
is the subject.)

But What About This One?

What I had for breakfast gave me heartburn.

(The verb is still "gave," but the subject is a noun clause: "What I had for breakfast.")

Remember

To find the subject of a sentence, locate the verb and ask who or what about the verb.

In the sentence above, ask "what gave me heartburn?"

"I"? clearly not.

"Breakfast"? not exactly.

"What I had for breakfast"? Right.

 

"But wait," you say. "I thought a noun was a person place or thing"?

It is. Think about "what I had for breakfast" as being a thing or things.

Let's look at some more examples:

(the noun clauses are underlined)

What the English teacher said was downright inspiring.

(This noun clause is used as a subject.)

 The wonderful thing about English teachers is that they all get along so well.

(This noun clause is used as a subject complement)

I must decide which English course to take.

(This noun clause is used as a direct object.)

English teachers dispense wisdom to whoever will listen.

(This noun clause is the object of a preposition)

By now it is becoming clear that lots of dependent signals introduce noun clauses.

Below is a list.

Dependent signals which introduce noun clauses

Who Whom

Whose Which

That if

Whether What

When Where
 How Why

And various forms of "-ever":

Whoever Whenever

Whatever Wherever

Notice

Lots of these words are flexible. They can do different things in different sentences.

Let's look at some more examples:

The students don't know whether or not they can stay awake during the lecture.

(This is a noun clause used as a direct object)

Examples of Noun Clauses

Here are some examples of noun clauses:
 A person who trusts no one can't be trusted. (Jerome Blattner)
(This noun clause is the subject of the sentence.)
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
 That he believes his own story is remarkable. (Jerome Blattner)
(This noun clause is the subject of the sentence. Be aware that starting a
sentence with a noun clause starting That is acceptable, but it grates on
lots of people's ears. As a result, many writers prefer to precede it with
"The fact…".)
 Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying. (Fran
Lebowitz)
(This noun clause is the direct object of ask.)
 He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes. (James
Thurber, 1894-1961)
(This noun clause is the direct object of know.)
 It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended
from man. (H L Mencken, 1880-1956)
(This noun clause is the direct object of believe.)
 I never know how much of what I say is true. (Bette Midler)
 (This noun clause is an object of a preposition.)
 Man is what he eats. (Ludwig Feuerbach)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
 My one regret in life is that I am not someone else. (Woody Allen)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.) 

 An economist is a man who states the obvious in terms of the

incomprehensible. (Alfred A Knopf)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.) 
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
Noun Clause
Many people are fairly comfortable with the idea of nouns, but they might not feel so
confident when it comes to the idea of a noun clause. Noun clauses come in a variety of
forms; and learning about each form is the best way to understand the concept of noun
clauses.
Purpose of a Noun Clause
Noun clauses can be used in a number of ways, and they serve different purposes. First and
foremost, please recognize that these clauses are dependent clauses. A dependent clause is
one that cannot stand by itself. If a dependent clause is placed alone, it forms a fragment,
not a sentence. An independent clause can act as a sentence by itself, but dependent clauses
cannot.
Subject of a Verb
A noun clause can act as a subject of a verb, and we will break down what that means after
a couple of examples. This clause is acting as the subject of a verb is present in:
 What Alicia said made her friends cry.
 What Megan wrote surprised her family.
 What the man did was not very polite.
When there's a verb in the sentence, you must find the subject. Therefore, in the first we
can ask "What made?" and the answer is "What Alicia said." Therefore, "What Alicia said"
is the subject of that verb. In the next case, we can ask "What surprised?" and the answer is
"What Megan wrote." Do you now see how a noun clause can act as a subject of a verb?
Object of a Verb
In the same vein, noun clauses can also act as the object of a verb:
 She didn't know that the directions were wrong.
 He didn't realize that the stove was off.
 They now understand that you should not cheat on a test.
Once again, we can use the method of questioning to demonstrate how the noun clause is
being used. What didn't she know? What didn't he realize? And what do they now
understand? The answer in all three cases is the noun clause!
Subject Complement
Let's pick up the pace a little bit, and let's see if you can figure out how these noun clauses
are actually answers to questions within the sentence.
 Carlie's problem was that she didn't do the wash.
 Harry's crowning achievement was his 4.0 GPA.
 Darla's television was a 60 inch screen.
Once again, do you see what questions these noun clauses answer and how they relate to
the subject? What was Carlie's problem? What was Harry's crowning achievement? What
was Darla's television? Without these clauses, the sentences would not be complete
thoughts grammaticaly, nor would they sound complete at all.
Object of a Preposition
Noun clauses also act as objects of a preposition.
 Harry is not the provider of what Margie needs.
 Josephine is not resposible for what Alex decided to do.
 Allie is the owner of that blue car.
Once again, Harry is not the provider of what? Josephine is not responsible for what? Allie
is the owner of what?