Page 201 - English Grammar - IX-X

TYPES OF DEPENDENT OR SUBORDINATE CLAUSES DEPENDENT OR SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
TYPES OF
There are three types of subordinate clauses: noun clause, adjective clause, and adverb clause.

Noun Clause

A subordinate clause that performs a similar function as a noun in a sentence is called a noun
clause. In other words, a noun clause is a clause that acts as the subject of a verb, object of a
verb, complement of a verb, object of an infinitive, object of a participle, object of a preposition,
or apposition to a noun. It gives the answer to the question—what?
For example:

• What seemed to be a shooting star appeared in the sky.
noun clause (subject of the verb appeared)
• The principal announced that Raghav had won the singing competition.

noun clause (object of the verb announced)
• A happy and content life is what everyone desires.

noun clause (complement of the verb is)
• It is hard to believe that aliens visited you and took you on a journey in their spaceship.
noun clause (object of the infinitive to believe)

• Your health depends on how well you take care of yourself.
noun clause (object of the preposition on)

• The manager fired his assistant, thinking that he had intentionally misplaced the file.
noun clause (object of the participle thinking)
• The announcement that all the passengers were safe was greeted with great relief.

noun clause (in apposition to the noun announcement)
A noun clause is introduced by the word that, by question words like why, what, how, etc. or
by if/whether.

For example:
• Mother wants to know whether you will be at home in the evening.
• We were surprised to know that Sahil had declined to take up a job in Germany.

• Don’t believe what strangers tell you.
• I could not understand why he was not talking to me.
• The teacher asked us if we had finished our science project.

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