Noun Clauses and Adjectival Clauses and Adverbial Clauses:

for Odalys Rabelo Vazquez in Cuba

 

Examples in The A – Z of English Grammar & Usage:

 

No-one believes that the earth is flat.

What I believe is no business of yours.

Our plan is to catch the early train.

You are in danger of making a grave mistake.

 (These are examples of four different types of noun clause.  These clauses replace a noun or pronoun, for example.)

 

Practice Exercise:

Advice:  You need to read anything you can find in English and underline all the examples which match the examples above. 

You need to be able to link ideas together like this when you are writing for stylistic purposes

e.g. Idea 1: you elect Presidents; Idea 2:  it is expensive.

 

1.     (elect Presidents)… is a costly and expensive business.

2.     (believe about yourself)…..affects everything you do in your life.

3.     (be or not)…..the question Hamlet asked himself when he was feeling suicidal.

4.     Global arming is the reason: (we feel that there is more wet weather everywhere).

 

Answers:

1.     Electing Presidents is a costly and expensive business.

2.     What you believe about yourself affects everything you do in your life.

3.     To be or not to be is the question Hamlet asked himself when he was feeling suicidal.

4.     Global warming is the reason that we all feel that there is more wet weather everywhere.

 

Adjectival Clauses:

 

For adjective + that clause see The A – Z of English Grammar & Usage.

Many groups of adjectives are followed by that, from, of, to, with many the only pattern you can use is ‘it + verb’:

 

e.g. I’m afraid (that) I have some bad news for you.

 

Practice Exercise:

1. (sorry that) the queen, not everyone likes her 11 dogs.

2. (possible that) my grammar exercises not the best, they are free.

3. (distant from) the teacher training college, the centre of old Havana.

4. (hard to, difficult to) Vietnamese, it is so different from English.

5. (annoyed/angry about) airlines, the rise in the price of oil.

6. (keen to) a man called Dr Robert Titzer, tell all parents their babies can learn to read before they can learn to speak.

 

Answers:

1.     The queen is sorry that not everyone likes her 11 dogs.

2.     It is possible that my grammar practice exercises are not the best but they are free!

3.     The teacher training college is distant from the centre of old Havana.

4.     Vietnamese is hard to learn because it is so different from English.

5.     The airlines are very annoyed about the rise in the price of oil.  It will bankrupt many of them.

6.     A man called Dr. Robert Titzer is keen to tell all parents that their babies can learn to read before they can learn to speak.

 

Adverbial Clauses:

See the A – Z of English Grammar & Usage.  There is a big list of them there.

You should read anything you can in English and practise by underlining any examples you can find.

e.g. you can have an adverbial clause of time:

Simon and I met when we were working in a school in London.

(instead of saying: idea 1: we met in London idea 2: we were both working in a school there, you join the ideas together with ‘when’.

e.g. 1.  You won’t know me if we meet again.

e.g. 2. Although he tries very hard it is very difficult for him to pass exams.

e.g. 3. I bought a new computer because the old one was out of date.

 

Look up linking words such as conjunctions in the dictionary and make a list of them to help you link ideas together like this.

 

Practice Exercise:

1.       (as soon as) finish my work, go out.

2.       (in case) I don’t see you, I leave a note.

3.       (Verb+ing that – use ‘see’) we don’t agree, we need to bring in a third person to help us negotiate.

4.       (so that)   I like getting up early, go to the gym before work.

5.       (as if, as though) He was staring at her, he knew her, but she had never seen him before.

6.       (where, when)This is the hotel, I first stayed, I came to Vietnam.

 

Answers:

1.     As soon as I have finished my work, I will go out.

2.     I will leave you a note in case I don’t see you.

3.     Seeing that we don’t agree I think we need to bring in a third person (or party) to help us negotiate.

4.     I like getting up early so that I can go to the gym before work.

5.     He was staring at her as if he knew her but she had never seen him before.

6.     This is the hotel where I first stayed when I came to Vietnam.

  

Read The A - Z of English Grammar & Usage for the rules.

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