Annisa Nur Titisari: April 2012

Noun Clauses

A noun clause is an entire clause which takes the place of a noun in another clause or phrase. Like a noun, a noun clause acts as thesubject or object of a verb or the object of a preposition, answering the questions "who(m)?" or "what?".

Example :

Noun

I know Latin.

Noun Clause

I know that Latin is no longer spoken as a native languange.

In the first example, the noun "Latin" acts as the direct object of the verb "know." In the second example, the entire clause "that Latin ..." is the direct object.

In fact, many noun clauses are indirect questions:

Noun

Their destination is unknown.

Noun clause

Where they are going is unknown.

The question "Where are they going?," with a slight change in word order, becomes a noun clause when used as part of a larger unit -- like the noun "destination," the clause is the subject of the verb "is."

Here are some more examples of noun clauses:

about what you bought at the mall

This noun clause is the object of the preposition "about," and answers the question "about what?"

Whoever broke the vase will have to pay for it.

This noun clause is the subject of the verb "will have to pay," and answers the question "who will have to pay?"

The Toronto fans hope that the Blue Jays will win again.

This noun clause is the object of the verb "hope," and answers the question "what do the fans hope?"

Formula :

Question word/conjunction/that + subject + verb + …

Conjunction

A conjunction is a word that connects other words or groups of words. In the sentence Bob and Dan are friends the conjunction and connects two nouns and in the sentence He will drive or fly, the conjunction or connects two verbs. In the sentence It is early but we can go, the conjunction but connects two groups of words.

Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions which connect two equal parts of a sentence. The most common ones are and, or, but, and so which are used in the following ways:

and is used to join or add words together in the sentence.
or is used to show choice or possibilities as in the sentence.
but is used to show opposite or conflicting ideas as in the sentence.
so is used to show result as in the sentence.
Example :

1) They ate and drank

2) He will be here on Monday dr Tuesday

3) She is small but strong

4) I was tired si I went to sleep

Subordinating conjunctions connect two parts of a sentence that are not equal and will be discussed more in another class. For now, you should know some of the more common subordinating conjunctions such as:
    after                before                unless
    although         if                       until
    as                   since                   when
    because          than                    while
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. In the sentence Both Jan and Meg are good swimmers, both . . .and are correlative conjunctions. The most common correlative conjunctions are:
    both . . .and
    either . . . or
    neither . . . nor
    not only . . . but also