What are noun clauses and how can you use them to improve your English? This is actual a simple part of the English language and this PPT can teach you how and why we use noun clauses in a sentence. See http://www.ted-ielts.com for more free grammar lessons.

1. Noun
Clauses

2. What is a Noun?
We often say that a noun is:
• A person
• A place
• An animal
• A thing
However, this definition is too
simple. Nouns can also refer to
abstract ideas, like “patriotism”
or “wisdom”.

3. What is a Noun?
Perhaps it is better to think of nouns as either:
✗Subject
✗Object
✗Complement
Look for the nouns
in these sentences:
Paul eats pizza.
Sandy is a doctor.
S O
S C
Complement
follow state of
being verbs like
“to be” or
“become”.

4. What is a Clause?
A clause is a group of words containing a subject and
a verb:
✗ Jim reads.
✗ Mark walks to class.
A sentence can have two or more clauses:
✗ I ate salad because I’m on a diet.
✗ Last week, for reasons I’ll never understand, my
wife got a tattoo.
Clauses are considered either independent or
dependent.
Dependent Clause

5. What is a Noun Clause?
A noun clause is a clause that takes the place of a
noun. In other words, it is either a
✗ Subject
✗ Object
✗ Complement
Let’s look at some examples to better understand
what a noun clause does.

6. We can eat pizza.
Subject Object
Verb

7. We can eat whatever you want.
?
Subject Object
Verb

8. Remember: This is a dependent clause.
It has a subject and verb, but it is not a full sentence.
whatever you want
That’s because it doesn’t express a complete idea.
subject
verb

9. Steve Jobs was a genius.
Subject Complement
Verb

10. Whoever invented the
iPhone was a genius.
Subject
Verb Complement

11. Again, you can see this is not a complete thought, so
it is a dependent clause.
Whoever invented the iPhone
Also, look at the first word of the clause. It is similar to
the first word of the previous example clause,
“whatever.”

12. First Words
Noun clauses can often be recognized by their first
word.
Some include –ever:
✗ whoever
✗ wherever
✗ whenever
✗ whichever
Others include whether or if, and most contain
question words:
✗ who, what, where, when, why, how

13. First Words
Let’s look at some examples:
I know why you were angry.
I know how you did it.
I know where you were yesterday.
I know what they will do.
I know who will win the race.
I know when she will arrive.
I don’t know whether to bring a gift or not.
I don’t know if we should go to the party.
Note: Each example includes the verb “know” because noun clauses
can express an idea that is difficult to capture in a single word, which is
often necessary following “know”.

14. First Words
That is another commonly used first word; however, it
is often omitted from a sentence in spoken English.
✗ She always felt (that) she wasn’t good enough.
✗ I know (that) you are angry with me.
✗ It seems (that) we are in a difficult situation.
✗ He believed (that) everything happens for a reason.
✗ My cousin told me (that) she’s going to Germany
for a semester.

15. Look for the Verb
To find a noun clause, search for the verbs and
prepositions in a sentence.
I wonder why she didn’t come to work today.
You should think about what you want to do
next year.
verbs
preposition

16. More
Examples

17. What she said inspired me.
The noun clause here acts
as a subject.

18. Once you retire, you can
do whatever you want.
Here, the noun clause
is a direct object of the
verb “do”.

19. Young people need to
think about what they will
do in the future.
This noun clause is the
object of a preposition.

20. Ask your guests what they
want to drink as soon as
they arrive.
Be careful with these
types of sentence. The
dependent clause is in the
middle of the main clause.

21. Practice

22. Join the two
sentences to make
one sentence that
includes a noun
clause.
1. Susan had a problem. She
didn’t study hard enough.
2. You want me to do
something. I am not
responsible for doing it.
3. I said something. It was
not very nice.
4. They want to programme a
computer. Now they
understand.
5. A man walked on the
moon. I met him.

23. 1. Susan’s problem was that
she didn’t study hard
enough.
2. I am not responsible for
what you want me to do.
3. What I said was not very
nice.
4. They know understand
how to programme a
computer.
5. I met a man who walked
on the moon.
Here are some
possible answers.

24. If you found this grammar
lesson useful, you can
check out TED-IELTS.com
for more free English
practice. Also take a look at
my other teaching blog,
which gives lesson plans
for teachers.