Noun Clause - Ask A Tutor

A noun clause is a dependent clause with a subject/predicate pair that can function as a single noun. A noun clause can act as the subject of the sentence, an object of the verb or an object of a preposition.

Noun Clause as the Subject of the Sentence

How hard you choose to work will determine the level of success in life.

In the above example, the subject of the main clause is – How hard you choose to work.

The predicate of the main clause is – will determine the level of success in life.

But the subject has its own subject/predicate pair. It is a noun clause. The subject of the noun clause is – You. The verb of the noun clause is – choose to work.

How I learned how to bake a potato will be the topic of this article.

The subject of this sentence is the noun clause – How I learned how to bake a potato. The predicate of the sentence is – will be the topic of this article. However, the subject is a clause with its own subject/predicate pair. The subject of the noun clause is – I -. The verb of the noun clause is – learned how to bake. This entire clause is the subject of the main clause. The predicate is – will be the topic of this article.

Notice that the noun clause in the above examples could be replaced with another noun or even a gerund. For example, it could read:

How hard you choose to work will determine the level of success in life.

Your work effort will determine the level of success in life.

In this case, the noun clause was replaced with a noun phrase. It could also be replaced with a simple pronoun:

You will determine the level of success in life.

Noun Clause as a Subject Complement (object of a linking verb)

My opinion on the matter is that we should go to the beach.

The subject of the main clause is – My opinion on the matter. The verb of the main clause is – is. The subject complement is the entire clause – that we should go to the beach. The subject complement is a clause that has its own subject/predicate pair.

Example 2

I believe that government is best that governs the least.

The direct object of the verb – believe – is the noun clause – that government is best that governs the least.

The subject of the noun clause is – government. The verb of the noun clause is the second occurrence of – is. The object of the noun clause is an adjective clause with a subject/predicate pair – that governs the least. This adjective clause modifies the noun – government – in the noun clause.

Noun Clause as an object of a preposition

Let’s consider examples of a noun clause as an object of a preposition.

I will tell my story to whoever will listen.

In the above sentence, the main clause is – I will tell my story to…, but the preposition – to – needs an object. The object is the noun clause – whoever will listen. The subject of the noun clause is – whoever. The predicate of the noun clause is – will listen. It is also the object of the preposition. Notice that the pronoun – whoever – is the subject of the verb in the noun clause. It acts as the actor, and therefore, it is in the subjective case. If the pronoun were the object of the verb in the noun clause, the pronoun would be – Whomever or simply whom. For example:

The boss will give a raise to whomever the boss likes more.

The noun clause in the above example is the object of the preposition – to. However, the pronoun – whomever – is not the subject of the verb in the noun clause. The boss is the subject of the verb – likes. The pronoun – whomever – is the object of the verb, and therefore, it is in the objective case.

A noun clause and its Antecedent

As previously discussed, a pronoun takes the place of a noun. The noun the pronoun references is called the antecedent of the pronoun. Oftentimes, the pronoun proceeds the noun it references. Let’s consider a common sentence structure in ordinary language.

It has come to my attention that some employees are not cleaning up the break room after breaks.

In the above example, the pronoun – It – references the noun clause – that some employees are not cleaning up the break room after breaks. Thus, the noun clause acts as a noun that is replaced by a pronoun.

The Distinction between a noun clause and an adjective clause

The distinction between a noun clause and an adjective clause is determined by the function the clause performs. If the clause functions as a noun, then it is a noun clause. If it functions as an adjective, then it is an adjective clause. If it functions as an adverb, then it is an adverbial clause. Most complex sentences have a wide variety of all types of clauses. With this in mind, it is time to deconstruct, analyze, and revise some complex sentences.

The second paragraph from the Declaration of Independence employs a long series of noun clauses.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed (Jefferson, 1776).

Notice that all these noun clauses were references as truths at the beginning of the paragraphs – We hold these truths to be self-evident -. The series of subordinate clauses take the place of truths. Thus, they are noun clauses.

Noun clauses are common in political philosophy. Consider the following quote by Karl Marx.

Political economy finds it an established fact that the prices of all commodities, among them the price of the commodity which it calls “labour,” continually change; that they rise and fall in consequence of the most diverse circumstances, which often have no connection whatsoever with the production of the commodities themselves, so that prices appear to be determined, as a rule, by pure chance (Marx, Wages and Capital, 1847).

In the above quote, the noun clause

that the prices of all commodities, among them the price of the commodity which it calls “labour,” continually change; that they rise and fall in consequence of the most diverse circumstances,

refers to – an established fact. The adjective clause – – modifies the noun in the noun clause – -.

In the next lessons, an analysis of complex sentences combined together in full paragraphs will be conducted based on the principles set fourth in the guidelines that accompany this course.