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Look at this example:
When did the Greeks first build temples?
If you want to attach this to the sentence "I don't know…" you must change the question into a noun clause, where the word order must be
connector + subject + verb
Therefore, the answer with a noun clause would be: I don't know when the Greeks first built temples.
If the question is about the subject, no changes to the word order are due:
Who was your favorite high school teacher? – He wanted to know who was my favorite high school teacher.
If there is no question word and the question is general (yes/no answer), connect the clause with "if":
Are you coming to the party? – He asked if I was coming to the party.
If there is no question, and you want to use a regular sentence as a noun clause, use the connector "that":
For example:
Pythagoras developed many theories. – That Pythagoras developed many theories is interesting.
NB: Mind the sequence of tenses!
Noun Clause Reductions
If
- the connector is "that";
- the connector is not the subject;
- the noun clause is not the subject of the sentence;
- the sentence is not too long and the structure of the sentence is clear,
then, you can remove the connector.
For example:
He said that he will be late. = He said he will be late.
But not in the following:
Although it has never happened before, we can safely assume because of the weather tonight that he will be late, mostly due to circumstances beyond his control.
Sometimes, it is possible to remove more words – if the following criteria are met:
- the connector is a question word;
- the subject in the noun clause is the same as the main subject in the sentence, or there is only one clear "doer" in the sentence;
- the verb in the noun clause includes the modal "would", "should", or "could".
For example:
I don't know what I should do. = I don't know what to do.
Practice changing these questions into noun clauses. Then, use the noun clause as the complement. Begin each sentence with "What I want to know is…"
Combine the following pairs of sentences into one, using a noun clause. The first word is already given.
Choose the best connector for these noun clauses. In some cases, there can be more than one correct answer.
Re-write the passage, adding noun clauses where possible. Remember, there is often more than one correct way to say the same thing.
The Sword in the Stone
There was once a young boy named Wert. There was something special about the boy. That thing was his pure heart.
Wert was an apprentice to a knight in London. He had to work. He had to clean the knight's armour every day. That made him unhappy. Wert never complained, however, but happily carried on.
One day, Wert met an unusual man named Merlyn. There was something special about Merlyn. Wert could not understand that thing.
Merlyn was a powerful magician. Everybody knew this fact. Merlyn saw a special thing about Wert, and decided to teach Wert some magic.
One spring Wert's master was very excited because of something. The thing that excited him was big: he had been invited to a joust in London. The knight prepared his best sword and told Wert to clean his armour.
On the day of the joust they went to London. The knight was very happy. This was because there was a big prize to win. This was Wert's first trip to London. That made him happy.
In the centre of London there was a huge rock in which there was a sword. Nobody could pull the sword out. There was an inscription in the stone. The stone read: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England". Before every joust all the knights tried to pull out the sword, but nobody could.
At the time of the joust everybody was excited. There was excitement in the air, Suddenly, during practice, Wert's knight's sword broke! That made them very nervous. There was no time. The knight sent Wert to find another sword. Wert ran to the stone in the centre of London and took the sword out. He brought it to his knight, and the knight won the joust. The knight knew something. There was something special about the sword. He asked Wert a question: where did he get the sword? Wert told him.
The knight doubted Wert. They went to the stone together. Wert put the sword back into the stone and pulled it out again. The knight tried to pull it out, but couldn't. That was a strange thing.
Wert had the purest heart in all of England. He grew up to become King Arthur, and the sword was called Excalibur.
