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Noun clauses are the third type of
subordinate clause. They begin with noun-clause markers. Noun clauses
that are formed from statements begin with the noun-clause marker that.
Noun clauses formed from yes/no questions begin with the noun-clause
markers whether or if. Those formed from information questions
begin with wh- words: what, where, when, and so
on. For example:
Dr. Hopkins’
office is in this building. (statement)
I’m sure that
Dr. Hopkins’ office is in this building.
Is Dr. Hopkins’
office on this floor? (yes/no question)
I don’t know if
(whether) Dr. Hopkins’ office is on this floor.
Where is Dr.
Hopkins’ office? (information question)
Please tell me where
Dr. Hopkins’ office is.
Notice that the word order in direct questions
is not the same as it is in noun clauses. The noun clause follows statement
word order (subject + verb), not question word order (auxiliary + subject +
main verb). Often one of the distractors for noun-clause items will
incorrectly follow question word order.
I don’t know
what is her name. (incorrect use of question word order)
I don’t know
what her name is. (correct word order)
She called him
to ask what time did his party start. (incorrect use of question word
order)
She called him
to ask what time his party started. (correct word order)
Noun clauses function exactly as nouns
do: as subjects, as direct objects, or after the verb to be.
When the
meeting will be held has not been decided. (noun clause as subject)
The weather
announcer said that there will be thunderstorms. (noun clause as
direct object)
This is what
you need. (noun clause after to be)
Notice that when the noun clause is the
subject of a sentence, the verb in the main clause does not have a noun or
pronoun subject.
In structure items, the noun-clause
marker, along with any other part of the noun clause—subject, verb, and so
on—may be missing from the stem, or the whole noun clause may be missing.
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Sample
Items
______________
was caused by breathing impure air was once a common belief.
(A) Malaria
(B) That
malaria
(C) Why
malaria
(D) Because
malaria
The
correct answer is (B). Choice (A) is incorrect because there
are two verbs (was caused and was) but only one subject. Choice (C) is
incorrect because Why is not the
appropriate noun-clause marker in this sentence; the noun clause is based
on a statement, not on an information question. Choice (D) is incorrect
because it forms an adverb clause, but the main clause lacks a subject. In
the correct answer, the noun clause itself (That malaria was caused by breathing impure air) is the subject
of the verb was in the main clause.
One basic
question psychologists have tried to answer is __________________ .
(A) people
learn
(B) how do
people learn
(C) people
learn how
(D) how
people learn
The
correct answer is (D). Choice (A) is incorrect; there is
no connector between the first clause and the second. Choice (B)
incorrectly follows question word order. Choice (C) is incorrect because how
is in the wrong position.
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EXERCISE 16
Focus: Completing
structure problems involving incomplete noun clauses. (Note: Two or
three items in this exercise do NOT focus on noun clauses. These items are
marked in the answer key with asterisks.)
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Directions: For Sentence
Completion items, mark the answer choice—(A), (B), (C),
or (D)—that correctly completes the sentence. For Error
Identification items, circle the underlined portion of the sentence that
would not be considered correct.
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1
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_______________ begin their
existence as ice crystals over most of the earth seems likely.
(A) Raindrops
(B) If raindrops
(C) What if raindrops
(D) That raindrops
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2
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Scientists cannot agree on
____________ related to other orders of insects.
(A) that fleas are
(B) how fleas are
(C) how are fleas
(D) fleas that are
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3
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It was in 1875
_________________ joined the staff of the astronomical observatory at Harvard
University.
(A) that Anna Winlock
(B) Anna Winlock, who
(C) as Anna Winlock
(D) Anna Winlock then
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4
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A test pilot tries out (A) new kinds of (B) aircraft to determine (C) if are they (D) safe.
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5
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___________________________________
is a narrow strip of woods along a stream in an open grassland.
(A) Ecologists use the term
“gallery forest”
(B) What do ecologists call a
“gallery forest”
(C) “Gallery forest” is the
term ecologists use
(D) What ecologists call a “gallery
forest”
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6
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_____________________
developed so rapidly in Alabama primarily because of its rich natural
resources.
(A) That heavy industry
(B) Heavy industry
(C) Heavy industry that was
(D) When heavy industry
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7
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___________________________________
so incredible is that these insects successfully migrate to places that
they have never even seen.
(A) That makes the monarch
butterflies’ migration
(B) The migration of the
monarch butterflies is
(C) What makes the monarch
butterflies’ migration
(D) The migration of the
monarch butterflies, which is
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8
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Art critics do not all (A) agree on what
are the qualities (B) that
make (C) a painting great (D).
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9
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In order to grow vegetables
properly, gardeners must know ___________________________________.
(A) what the requirements for
each vegetable are
(B) that the requirements for
each vegetable
(C) what are each vegetable’s
requirements
(D) that is required by each
vegetable
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10
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Exactly (A) when was the wheel (B) invented (C) is not (D) known.
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11
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For many years people have
wondered ___________ exists elsewhere in the universe.
(A) that life
(B) life which
(C) whether life
(D) life as it
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12
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Although (A) geologists
have a clearly (B) understanding
of why earthquakes occur
(C), they cannot reliably predict when they
will (D) take place.
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