Do you know what a noun clause is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on noun clause, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
According to Your Dictionary, a noun clause is a dependent clause that functions as a noun in a sentence. It often follows a linking verb or copular verb to describe or modify the subject of the sentence. A noun clause can be a subject, an object of a preposition, predicate noun, predicate nominatives, an adjective complement, the direct object of the verb, or a subject complement. Distinct from a noun phrase, a noun clause contains a subject and a verb. Noun clauses function to add more details to a sentence. To test if a clause is a noun clause, you can replace it with other nouns or pronouns such as interrogative pronouns or relative pronouns. Noun clauses will often start with how, that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, why, and other wh-words.
A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand on their own as a full sentence or complete sentence like independent clauses can. There are many different types of clauses with a different grammatical function. The start of a noun clause might be different than adjective clauses. While noun clauses may feel like a mystery, be on the lookout for the introductory word, verb of the noun clause, and the word that acts as the subject of a verb or indirect object of a verb. With additional practice these will be easy. These can be used in informal speech, by kids, or in formal speech. Keep an eye out for this type of dependent clause. This part of the sentence will have special words that denote it at the beginning of a sentence or after a conjunction in compound sentences.
Many different languages also contain words that mean noun. You may notice that some of these translations of noun look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of noun is provided by Word Sense.
Persian: اسم (esm)
Lithuanian: daiktavardis
Indonesian: kata benda, nomina, kata nama, substantif
There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
December 24, 2021
Common Questions
