Noun Clauses

How to make a NOUN CLAUSE
Beginning of sentence + Question word + Subject + Verb + end......
   I don't know                 what
   I have no idea              where
   I wonder                     when
   I want to know             who   etc.

QUESTION                              NOUN CLAUSE
Where does he live?                 (a) I don't know where she lives.
What did she say?                   (b) I couldn't here what he said.
When do they arrive?               (c) Do you know when they arrive?

In (a) : where she lives is the object of the verb known. In a noun clause, the subject
precedes the verb. Do not use question word order in a noun clause.
NOTICE : does, did, and do are used in questions, but not in noun clauses.

Who lives there?                     (d) I don't know who lives there.
S     V                                                        S      V
What happened?                     (e) Please tell me what happened.
Who is at the door?                 (f) I wonder who is at the door.

In (d): The word order is the same in both the question and the noun clause because
who is the subject in both.

Who is she?                           (g) I don't know who she is.
      V   S                                                           S     V
Who are those men?               (h) I don't know who those men are.

In (g) : she is the subject of the question, so it is placed in front of the verb be in
the noun clause.
Noun Clause の中なので、疑問形の文法（動詞＋主語）を通常の形に戻す。

What did she say?                   (i) What she said surprised me.
       (past)                                 I don't know what she said.
What should they do?               (j) What they should do is obvious.

In (j) : What she said is the subject of the sentence.
質問で did と聞かれているので、 Noun Clause では動詞は過去形に換える。
　　　　　（”a” Notice　参照）　　

EXERCISE / Change the question in parentheses to a noun clause.
               1) (How old is he?) I don't Know
               2) (How much does it cost?) I can't remember
               3) (How many letters are there in the English alphabet?)
                   I don't remember
               4) (Who is the mayor of New York City?) I don't know
               5) (Who opened the door?) I don't know
               6) (Why did they leave the country?)                 is a secret.

ANSWER / 1) I don't know how old he is.
                2) I can't remember how much it costs.
                3) I don't remember how many letters there are in the English alphabet.
                4) I don't remember who the mayor of New York City is.
                5) I don't know who opened the door.
                6) Why they left the country is a secret.

When a yes / no question is changed to a noun clause, whether or if is used to introduce the clause.

yes / no question                     Noun clause
Will she come?                        I don't know whether she will come.
                                                  I don't know if she will come.
Does he need help?                I wonder whether he needs help.
                                                 I wonder if he needs help.

When if / whether introduces a noun clause, the expression or not may come at the end of the clause.
I don't know if Eric is at home or not.
I don't know whether Eric is at home or not.

or not can come at the end of the noun clause.
Notice: or not can't come immediately after if.
I don't know whether or not Eric is at home.
Whether she comes or not is unimportant to me.

Question words (when, where, how, who, whom, whose, what, which) and whether may be followed by an infinitive.
The meaning expressed by the infinitive is either should or can / could.

I don't know what I should do. → I don't know what to do.

Pam can't decide whether she should go or stay home.
↓
Pam can't decide whether to go or (to) stay home.

Please tell me how I can get to the bus station.
↓
Please tell me how to get the bus station.

EXERCISE / Create sentences with the same meaning by using infinitives.
                1) The plumber told me how I could fix the leak in the sink.
                2) Please tell me where I should meet you.
                3) Don had an elaborate excuse for being late for their date,
                    but Sandy didn't know whether she should believe him or not.
                4) Jim found two shirts he liked, but he had trouble deciding which
                    one he should buy.

ANSWER / 1) The plumber told me how to fix the leak in the sink.
                2) Please tell me where to meet you.
                3) Don had an elaborate excuse for being late for their date,
                    but Sandy didn't know whether to believe him or not.
                4) Jim found two shirts he liked, but he had trouble deciding which
                    one to buy.

The word that, when it introduces a noun clause, has no meaning in itself. It simply marks the beginning of the clause. Frequently it is omitted. (especially in speaking)

He is a good actor. → I think that he is a good actor.
I think he is a good actor.

The noun clause (That she doesn't understand spoken English) is the subject of the
sentence. The word that is not omitted when it introduces a noun clause used as the
subject of a sentence.

She doesn't understand spoken English. → That she doesn't understand spoken English
                                                           is obvious.
                                                        It is obvious (that) she doesn't understand
                                                          spoken English.

The world is round. →　That the world is round is a fact.
It is fact that the world is round.

More commonly, the word it functions as the subject and the noun clause is placed at the end of the sentence.

EXERCISE / Combine the sentences using "the fact that" to introduce a noun clause.
                1) Ann was late. That didn't surprise me.
                2) Rosa didn't come. That made me angry.
                3) I'm a little tired. I feel fine except for that.
                4) Kazu is frequently absent from class. That indicates his lack of interest
                    in school.
                5) I was supposed to bring my passport to the examination for identification.
                    I was not aware of that.

ANSWER / 1) The fact that Ann was late didn't surprise me.
                2) The fact that Rosa didn't come made me angry.
                3) I feel fine except for the fact that I'm a little tired.
                4) The fact that indicates Kazu's lack of interest in school is frequently
                    absent from class.
                5) I was not aware the fact that I was supposed to bring my passport to the
                   examination for identification.

Quoted speech refers to reproducing words exactly as they were originally spoken.
Quotation marks (".....") are used.

(1-a) She said, "My brother is a student."
Use a comma after she said. Capitalize the first word of the quoted sentence. Put the final quotation marks outside the period at the end of the sentence.

(1-b) "My brother is a student," she said.
Use a comma at the end of the quoted sentence when it precedes she said.

(1-c) "My brother," she said, "is a student."
If the quoted sentence is divided by she said, use a comma after the first part of the quote. Do not capitalize the first word after she said.

(2-a) "My brother is a student. He is attending a university," she said.
Quotation marks are placed at the beginning and end of the complete quote.

(2-b) "My brother is a student," she said.
"He is attending a university."
If she said comes between two quoted sentences, the second sentence begins with quotation marks and a capital letter.

(3-a) She asked, "When will you be here?"
The question mark is inside the quotation marks.

(3-b) "When will you be here?" she asked.
If a question mark is used, no comma is used before she asked.

(3-c) She said, "Watch out!"
The exclamation point is inside the quotation marks.

(4-a) "Let's leave," whispered Dave.
(4-b) "Please help me," begged the unfortunate man.
(4-c) "Well," Jack began, "it's a long story."
Say and ask are the most commonly used quote verbs.
Some others: add, agree, announce, answer, beg, begin, comment, complain, confess, continue, explain, inquire, promise, remark, replay, respond, shout, suggest, whisper.

EXERCISE / Add the necessary punctuation and capitalization.
                1) Henry said     there is a phone call for you
                2) There is a phone call for you     he said
                3) There is     said Henry     a phone call for you
                4) There is a phone call for you     it's your sister      said Henry
                5) There is a phone call for you     he said     it's your sister

ANSWER / 1) Henry said, "There is a phone call for you."
                2) "There is a phone call for you," he said.
                3) "There is," said Henry, "a phone call for you."
                4) "There is a phone call for you. It's your sister," said Henry.
                5) "There is a phone call for you," he said, "It's your sister."

*Report speech refers to using a noun clause to report what someone has said. No question marks are used.
If the reporting verb (the main verb of the sentence, e.g., said) is simple past, the verb in the noun clause will usually also be in a past form.

(a)"I watch TV every day."	She said she watched TV every day.
(b)"I am watching TV."	She said she was watching TV.
(c)"I have watched TV."	She said she had watched TV.
(d)"I watched TV."	She said she had watched TV.
(e)"I had watched TV."	She said she had watched TV.
(f)"I will watch TV."	She said she would watch TV.
(g)"I am going to watch TV."	She said she was going to watch TV.
(h)"I can watch TV."	She said she could watch TV.
(i) "I may watch TV."	She said she might watch TV.
(j)"I must watch TV."	She said she had to watch TV.
(k)"I have to watch TV."	She said she had to watch TV.

(l)"I should watch TV."	She said she should watch TV.
"I ought to watch TV."	She said she ought to watch TV.
"I might watch TV."	She said she might watch TV.

*Sometimes in spoken English, no change is made in the noun clause verb, especially if the speaker is reporting something immediately or soon after it was said.

Immediate reporting:
A: "What did the teacher just say? I didn't hear him."
B: "He said he wants us to read Chapter Six."

Later reporting:
A: "I didn't go to class yesterday. Did Mr. Jones make any assignments?"
B: "Yes. He said he wanted us to read Chapter Six."

*Sometimes the present tense is retained even in formal English when the reported sentence deals with a general truth.

*When the reporting verb is simple present, present perfect, or future, the noun clause verb is not changed.

     "I watch TV every day."      → She says she watches TV every day.
     "I watch TV every day."      → She has said that she watches TV every day.
     "I watch TV every day."      → She will say that she watches TV every day.

EXERCISE /
"Where are you from?" Asked the passenger sitting next to me on the plane.
"Chicago," I said.
"That's nice. I'm from Mapleton. It's a small town in northern Michigan."
"Oh, yes. I've heard of it," I said. "Michigan is a beautiful state. I've been there
on vacation many times."
"Did you go to Michigan on vacation this year?"
"No. I went far away from home this year. I went to India," I replied.
"Oh, that's nice. Is it a long drive from Chicago to India?" she asked me.
My mouth fell open. I didn't know what to say. Some people sure need to study geography!

Rewrite the conversation in reported speech:
The passenger sitting next to me on the plane (1)   me where I (2)   from.
I (3)   her that I (4)    from Chicago. She (5)   that she (6)   from Mapleton,
a small town in northern Michigan.
She wondered if I (7)   of it, and I told her that I (8)   . I went on to say that I thought Michigan (9)    a beautiful state and I explained that I (10)   there on vacation many times.
She (11)   me if I (12)   to Michigan on vacations year.
I replied that I (13)   far away, to India. Then she asked me if it (14)    a long drive from Chicago to India!
My mouth fell open. I didn't know what to say. Some people sure need to study geography!

(1) asked	(6) was	(11) asked
(2) was	(7) had heard	(12) had gone
(3) told	(8) had	(13) had gone
(4) was	(9) was	(14) was
(5) said	(10) had been

The following -ever words give the idea of "any". Each pair of sentences in the examples has the same meaning.

whoever          (a) Whoever wants to come is welcome.
                          Anyone who wants to come is welcome.
who(m)ever    (b) He makes friends easily with who(m)ever he meets.
                           He makes friends easily with anyone who(m) he meets.
whatever        (c) He always says whatever comes into his mind.
                           He always says anything that comes into his mind.
whichever      (d) There are four good programs on TV at eight o'clock.
                           We can watch whichever programs you prefer.
                           We can watch any of four programs that you prefer.
whenever       (e) You may leave whenever you wish.
                          You may leave at any time that you wish.
wherever        (f) She can go wherever she wants to go.
                          She can go anyplace that she wants to go.
however         (g) The students may dress however they please.
                          The students may dress in any that they please.

EXERCISE / Complete the following by using -ever words.
              1) Mike is free to go anyplace he wishes. He can go        he wants.
              2) I don't know what you should do about that problem.
                 Do        seems best to you.
              3) If you want to rearrange the furniture, go ahead.
                 You can rearrange it        you want.
              4) Those children are wild! I feel sorry for        has to be their babysitter.
              5) I have a car. I can take you        you want to go.
              6) Irene does        she wants to do, goes        she wants to go, gets up
                         she wants to get up, makes friends with        she meets, and dresses
                         she pleases.

ANSWER /1) wherever 2) whatever 3) however 4) who(m)ever
5) wherever 6) whatever, wherever, whenever, who(m)ever, however