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.
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 as complements 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.
∇ Sample Item
________________ was caused by breathing impure air was once a common belief.
(A) Malaria
(B) That malaria
(C) Why malaria
(D) Because malaria
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 (B) 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
Choice (A) is incorrect; there is no connector between the first clause and the second. Choice (B) incorrectly follows question word order. (C) is incorrect because how is in the wrong position. Therefore, the correct answer is (D).