Noun Clauses 97 3. The experiment that we had proposed was fi nally approved. 4. I almost forgot that we were going to the Smiths’ tonight. 5. They will never forget the trip that they took to New Zealand. 6. We fi nally picked a design that we could all agree on. 7. Everybody felt that the discussion had gone as well as it could. 8. I am very worried about the meeting that we will have this afternoon. 9. We quickly discovered that we could not get a cab in a rainstorm. 10. The cab that we had ordered never showed up. When a that clause is used as the object of a verb, we often delete the word that from the beginning of the noun clause. Here are some examples with the deleted that represented by ∅ in the underlined that clauses. We knew ∅ it was getting pretty late. Do you understand ∅ we may not be able to hold your reservation? The manager said ∅ the hotel will be full this weekend. I suggest ∅ we look for another restaurant closer by. The waiter said ∅ we would need to wait at least twenty minutes. Deleting the introductory that from the beginning of that clauses poses a special problem for nonnative speakers because the introductory word that is the obvious clue that signals the begin- ning of a that clause. That clauses are unique in this respect: no other type of noun clause has the option of deleting its introductory word. Consequently, anytime we recognize a noun clause that does not begin with a distinctive introductory word, we know by default that it must be a that clause with the that deleted. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 97 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM 98 Noun Phrases Exercise 7.4 Many of the following sentences contain a that clause with a deleted that. Underline the that clause and confi rm your answer by inserting that at the beginning of the clause. We decided we should call a taxi. We decided that we should call a taxi. 1. He claimed he had been working at home all afternoon. 2. I wouldn’t have guessed it would have cost so much. 3. His son showed us he could ride his bicycle without using his hands. 4. We quickly discovered the roads were nearly impassable. 5. I suggest we stay at the airport hotel and fl y out in the morning. 6. Did you notice Senator Blather was wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe? 7. They concluded the proposal was going to need a lot more work. 8. The coach told the team they would have to practice much harder. 9. As I have gotten older, I have found I need to take better notes at meetings. 10. The defendant denied he had ever been to Chicago. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 98 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM Noun Clauses 99 Wh- clauses The second type of noun clause always begins with a wh- word. The term wh- word refers to a special group of words, most of which happen to begin with the letters wh Here are the most common wh- words that begin noun clauses, classifi ed by their parts of speech: NOUNS what whatever which whichever who whoever whom whomever whose ADVERBS when whenever where wherever why how The fact that wh- clauses can begin with adverbs does not change the fact that these intro- ductory words are used to create noun clauses. Here are some examples of adverb wh- words used to create noun phrases functioning as objects of verbs, followed by substitution of it to verify the function of the noun phrase: it I don’t know when they will be here. it We saw where they were going. it They soon discovered why we had packed our umbrellas. it Did you ever learn how they were able to finish so quickly? Wh- clauses can play all four noun roles of subject, object of verb, object of preposition, and predicate nominative (complement of a linking verb). Here are some examples: Subject It Whatever you want to do is OK with me. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 99 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM 100 Noun Phrases It Whose child started the quarrel makes no difference. It When the awards will be announced will have to remain confi dential. It Whom they were talking about was not at all clear. Object of verb It They didn’t tell me who you were. it Do you know where John left our cell phone? it I ate what everybody else was eating. it Tomorrow we will learn where our new assignment is. Object of preposition It The students couldn’t help wondering about what they had been told. it The hikers looked back at where they had been. it After what they had been told, they were no longer sure of anything. it We were fi nished except for whatever clean-up tasks remained to be done. Predicate nominative It The job is whatever you want to make of it. it Their gratitude was why all of our work was worth the effort. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 100 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM Noun Clauses 101 it The question is whose idea was it in the first place? it The best technique is whatever gets the job done. Exercise 7.5 Underline the wh- clauses in the following sentences. Confi rm your answers by replacing the noun clause with it. What you are entitled to remains to be seen. It remains to be seen. 1. We never learned where all those copies of the report went. 2. They will do whatever you want them to do. 3. Why they behaved the way they did is a complete mystery to me. 4. I wondered whose approval was necessary for the project to get started. 5. They parked the trucks not far from where the boxes were stacked up. 6. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. 7. After all, that was why we did it in the fi rst place. 8. Did you ever fi nd out whose car was blocking the driveway? 9. Whenever they want to start is OK with me. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 101 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM 102 Noun Phrases 10. She showed us how she wanted us to do it. 11. You will never guess what the problem was. 12. We had to settle for whatever they would pay us. 13. The new CEO is whomever the board appoints. 14. The secretary will record whatever is said at the meetings. 15. What you see is what you get. Up to this point, we have looked only at how wh- clauses are used as nouns inside the main sentence. As we have seen, wh- clauses can play all four noun roles (subject, object of verb, object of preposition, and predicate nominative) inside the larger (main) sentence. Now we will examine in some detail the internal structure of wh- clauses. That is, we will see how wh- noun clauses are constructed. Wh- clauses, as opposed to the much simpler that clauses, require some complicated internal rearrangements of sentence parts. All wh- clauses are formed according to the following two rules: 1. Replace a noun or adverb with the appropriate wh- word. We replace nouns with who, whom, whose ϩ noun, what, which, whoever, whomever, whatever, and whichever. We replace adverbs of time with when and whenever; adverbs of place with where and wherever; adverbs of cause with why; and adverbs of manner with how. Here is an example applied to a wh- word that plays the role of object of a verb. In this example, the wh- word what plays the role of the object of the verb said. As usual, the entire noun phrase is underlined. I know he said what. 2. Move that wh- word to the fi rst position inside the noun clause. Moving what out of its original position leaves behind an empty space or gap (marked with the symbol ∅) where the original object was: I know what he said ∅. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 102 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM Noun Clauses 103 When we hear or read the noun clause what he said, we understand that what is playing the role of the now missing object of the verb said. In other words, we automatically interpret the wh- word as fi lling a gap in the clause. Here is a second example, only this time the wh- word is the adverb where: I know they went where. Rule 2 requires us to move the wh- word to the beginning of the noun clause: I know where they went ∅. When we hear or read the noun clause where they went, we understand that where is playing the role of a missing adverb at the end of the clause. Here is an example of a wh-word in each of the four possible roles: Wh- word as subject I know who you are. In this case only, Rule 2 is meaningless or invalid, depending on how you look at it, because the wh- word is already in the fi rst position of the noun clause. Wh- word as object of a verb I know you mean whom. ⇒ I know whom you mean ∅. Wh- word as object of a preposition I know you spoke to whom. ⇒ I know whom you spoke to ∅. In very formal written English, to would move with whom to the beginning of the clause: I know you spoke to whom. ⇒ I know to whom you spoke ∅. Wh- word as predicate nominative I know the outcome was what. ⇒ I know what the outcome was ∅. Wh- word as adverb of time I know you left when. ⇒ I know when you left ∅. Wh- word as adverb of place I know you went where. ⇒ I know where you went ∅. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 103 3/16/09 12:34:06 PM . default that it must be a that clause with the that deleted. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 97 3 /16/ 09 12:34:05 PM 98 Noun Phrases Exercise 7.4 Many of the following sentences contain a that clause. meetings. 10. The defendant denied he had ever been to Chicago. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 98 3 /16/ 09 12:34:06 PM Noun Clauses 99 Wh- clauses The second type of noun clause always begins with. the letters wh Here are the most common wh- words that begin noun clauses, classifi ed by their parts of speech: NOUNS what whatever which whichever who whoever whom whomever whose ADVERBS when