Notes

Unit 12 Noun clauses

Grammar
Channel

12.1 Use
A noun clause
e-Dictionary
• is a group of words containing a subject + finite verb of its own.
• does the work of a noun.
that man.
I know
who that man is.

Most noun clauses begin with that or the following words:

who whom whose what which

where when how why if/whether

who he was.
whom she met at the airport yesterday.
whose answer is correct.
what I should say to make him happy.
which book she has chosen.
where he lives.
I don’t know
when she will arrive.
how I can get to the venue in 10 minutes.
why the computer is not working.
if he will go to the party.
whether I should study business at university.
that she is actually my sister’s friend.

A noun clause is different from a relative clause.

I am surprised by what he did. (noun clause)
Compare: I am surprised by the things that he did. (relative clause)

Caution

There are two things about noun clauses that we must remember:
1 The subject in the clause always comes before the verb.
7 Could you tell me what time is it now?
3 Could you tell me what time it is now?
Compare:
‘What time is it?’ she asked.
3 I wonder who won the match. (Who here works as a subject.)
Compare:
‘Who won the match?’ he asked. ‘Roger won,’ she answered. (Who here asks for a subject.)
2 We cannot use the present simple tense to refer to the future as we do in time clauses.
7 She has just told me that she arrives earlier tomorrow.
3 She has just told me that she will arrive earlier tomorrow.
Compare:
I’ll tell you when she arrives tomorrow. (time clause) 143
12.2 Forms
A noun clause can be:

• the subject of a verb What he told you is true.

• the object of a verb She wants to know where you live.

He pointed out that I had made a mistake.

• the object of a preposition He has never been satisfied with what he has achieved.

• after the verb to be This is what I intended to do.

• after nouns such as: The news that the country had been hit by a strong
fact news report earthquake was a huge shock.
belief rumour fear
hope When used in this way, the noun clause always
begins with that.

• after adjectives such as: I’m glad that you were able to come.
glad helpful I’m worried that her health is getting worse.
• after past participles such as:
confused alarmed
shocked worried

• other structures it + be + adjective/present participle

It’s strange that he should have made that remark.
It’s encouraging that the child is showing signs of
Speaking focus recovery.
In speech, we often omit it + be + noun/phrase
that in the noun clause. It’s a pity that you won’t be able to come.
It’s a good thing
It’s a good thing that you’ve given up smoking.
that) you’ve given
(that
up smoking.
smoking
The noun clause in these structures consistently
begins with that.

12.3 So and not

We can use so and not instead of noun clauses after certain verbs and the adjective afraid.

so after think, believe, expect, suppose, Alan: Will she come?

hope, imagine, guess, etc. Fred: I think so. (= I think that she will.)

so after tell + object pronoun and say A: That new coffee shop serves terrible coffee.
B: I told you so.

so and not after hope and afraid Alan: Is the report true?
Fred: I hope so. or
I hope not.
I’m afraid so. or
I’m afraid not.
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All answers Unit 12

Grammar Practice
A Complete the sentences using that, who, what, which (one), where, when, how, how many/
much/long, if/whether, etc. The first one has been done for you as an example.

1 She said she saw Brian at the cinema, but she couldn’t tell who he was with.

2 Nobody’s told me the picnic is being held. My guess is next Saturday.

3 The news the president had been shot sent shock waves throughout
the country.

4 Lara’s been away for months. I can’t imagine her parents must be
missing her.

5 The hall was packed with people, but I couldn’t tell exactly guests
there were.

6 Tom’s birthday party is tomorrow. It’s a pity you won’t be able to come.

7 Paul told me he’s going to Xiamen, but he didn’t tell me he’s going to
stay there for.

8 The car was a total wreck. We all wondered the driver managed to
survive the crash without a scratch.

9 He hurt himself falling off his bike. I wonder he’ll be able to take part
in the match tomorrow.

10 I’d like to send May an invitation to my party. Do you know she lives?

B Complete the sentences by choosing the correct words. The first one has been done for you as an
example.

1 Did he tell you when he would (would he/he would) be back?

2 Do you know why (did dinosaurs die out/dinosaurs died out)?

3 I’m not interested in what (is he doing/he is doing).

4 I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. Could you tell me again what
(you said/did you say) just now?

5 I don’t know which bus (did he take/he took).

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6 She tried to find out what (did he want/he wanted) for his
birthday.

7 ‘Who (saw/did anyone see) you leave the restaurant?’ the

police officer asked the suspect.

8 Do you know where (might he have gone/he might have gone)?

C Complete the dialogues using the given words + so/not. The first one has been done for you as
an example.

1 ‘Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.’ ‘I hope so (hope).’

2 ‘Do we have to finish painting the room today?’ ‘I (afraid).’

3 ‘Jessica is a beautiful girl!’ ‘Yes, all of her friends (say).’

4 ‘Do you think he’ll let us help him?’ ‘I (not/afraid). He

doesn’t like other people helping him.’

5 ‘Will Fiona be going to Justin’s party?’ ‘I (not/think); she

doesn’t know him very well.’

D Rewrite the sentences using the instructions in brackets and appropriate noun clauses. Do not
change the meaning. The first one has been done for you as an example.

1 We are confident of his success. (Begin with the given words.)

We are confident that he will succeed.

2 The weather is likely to be fine tomorrow. (Begin with the given words.)

It is likely

3 I have no idea of his whereabouts. (Begin with the given words.)

I have no idea

4 She forgot the time of her appointment. (Begin with the given words.)

She forgot

5 The woman asked the grocer the price of the apples. (Use how much.)

Extra Practice

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Notes All answers Unit 12

Language Practice
E Introduction
Replace each underlined phrase in the introduction with a noun clause using the words given in
brackets. The first one has been done for you as an example.

Rosetta and Philae

In March 2004, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a space probe named Rosetta into space. One of
the major goals (1) to be accomplished by this space expedition (that/be) was understanding (2) the formation
of the Solar System (how/be formed).
In August 2014, 10 years after its launch, the ESA team was relieved to learn (3) of Rosetta’s arrival at the
comet designated 67P (that/arrive). Three months later, the news (4) of the lander named Philae being placed
(that/be released) onto the comet attracted tens of thousands of people worldwide (5) to gather around their
TV or computer screens (who/gather) to witness the historic moment.
In order to examine (6) the chemical make-up of the comet (what/be made up of), Philae had to land on the
comet. Despite (7) the careful calculations made by the brilliant minds behind this project (fact/ that), no one
could predict (8) the outcome of the mission (what/be) as it was hard to control (9) the exact location of
Philae’s landing (where/land). Upon its initial touchdown, (10) Philae was reported to have bounced (reported/
that) a few times on the surface of the comet, which was (11) the cause of it ending up landing in the shadow
of a cliff (why/end up) and promptly entering into hibernation, as it had insufficient exposure to sunlight for
power.
The ESA team was able to reach Philae again between 13 June 2015 and 9 July 2015, when the last
communication took place. In February 2016, ESA announced that further communication with Philae would
be unlikely. However, Rosetta’s mission continued until 30 September 2016, the day when it made the final
impact on the comet.

(1)
that this space expedition was to accomplish

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)
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Notes All answers

F Conversation
Complete Tiffany and Kelly’s conversation by filling in each blank with ONE word that best
completes the sentence. The first one has been done for you as an example.

Tiffany Hey, Kelly, are you free this Saturday? There’s

a new theatrical production of The Little Prince
that
(1) I want to see. I’m wondering (2) you’d be (1)

interested in going with me. (2)

Kelly I’m a huge fan of The Little Prince, (3) I’ve (3)

never seen a theatrical production of it before.

Do you know (4) the actors and actresses are? (4)

Tiffany No, they haven’t revealed the cast (5) , but it (5)

is a production by a troupe called Lion Rock

Theatre.

Kelly I have heard of them. I know (6) they are (6)

famous for introducing popular plays to Hong

Kong by including local elements in their
productions. Do you know (7) kinds of local (7)

elements they will be putting into the play?

Tiffany I don’t know yet, but I believe (8) they will do (8)

a great job.

Kelly I hope so. I sometimes find local elements a bit

out of place (9) they are forced into a play. (9)

Tiffany Do you know (10) the story is about? (10)

Kelly Yes, it’s about a man (11) plane has crashed in a (11)

desert. There he meets a boy from another planet.

The story reveals the adventures of the boy.

Tiffany I have read (12) in some productions the play was (12)

adapted to include various local places, with the

main character encountering local people doing
things (13) might seem strange to him. I wonder (13)
(14) they will include egg puffs in the play. (14)

Kelly I think (15) . After all, they are a signature street (15)

food here.

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Notes All answers Unit 12

G Article
Complete the following article by filling in each blank with the most suitable phrase/clause. Use
each phrase/clause ONCE only. The first one has been done for you as an example.

A how clear cut this is G that they can be as strong as any burly
B how we should define a dancer rugby player
C I don’t think so H the belief that dance is not a sport
D that fits neatly into the creative box I the fact that dance is a sport as much
as football or tennis
E that participants’ dedication and skill are
what we should be celebrating with sport J we must question whether this is fair
F that there is no crossover between creative K which is competitive and active
and active pastimes L why many don’t consider it a sport

Dance is a Sport

There seems to be a belief (1) F . Things either fit neatly into the sporty or creative box.
However, it is debatable (2) . Dancing, for instance, is usually judged as something
(3) . Sure, it doesn’t follow one particular set of rules and there isn’t a ball in sight, but
often it is something (4) too. So then, (5) is unclear.

Perhaps (6) comes from its freestyle nature. You may wonder (7) .
Actually anyone from your dad awkwardly two-stepping at a family wedding to a ballroom
professional can be considered one. Maybe it’s too all-encompassing to be thought of as a sport?

You only need to watch a professional dancer at work, though, to realize (8) . Dancers
must train for years to reach a competitive standard. It is not surprising (9) .

In a world where motor car racing is normally judged to be a sport but dancing isn’t,
(10) . Does being creative in style and beautiful to watch make dancing any less
‘sporty’? (11) . I believe (12) . So, it’s definitely time that dancers were
considered to be athletes and dance was considered to be a sport.

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Notes All answers

Paper 2 Paper 3

In the HKDSE English Language Exam Paper 2 or Paper 3, you may be asked to write a
newsletter article. A newsletter article is usually a piece of writing that informs members of
an organization about its events or activities. When writing a newsletter article, you may use
noun clauses to
• explain a difficult idea
• make the article clearer and easier to understand
• add variety to the sentence structures used

H Newsletter article
Complete the newsletter article below using the words in the box and brackets. You may use each
word in the box more than once, while some of the words should not be used at all. Make sure
your answers are grammatically correct. The first one has been done for you as an example.

how if that what when where

whether which who whom whose why

School Newsletter November 20_ _

We may use the
preposition in to
talk about Let’s share the joy of reading
locations of
facilities when we
introduce them.
Refer to Unit 11 A bookcrossing corner will be established in the school’s covered playground next
for more
information about month. If you are wondering (1) what bookcrossing means (bookcrossing/mean),
prepositions of
place.
it is similar in meaning to ‘book swapping’. A bookcrossing corner is a place

(2) (people/can/find/read/books)
We use the verb
make in the easily and for free. The rationale behind the corner is (3)
structure make +
object + bare
infinitive to mean (read/should/encourage) for everyone.
‘cause/force a
person/thing to do
something’. Refer You may now be wondering (4)
to Unit 5 for more
information about
bare infinitives (idea/bookcrossing corner/be). It was Charlotte Choi’s and she is from Class 3B.
and Unit 24 for
other ways to talk ‘I noticed (5)
about cause and
effect.
(many students/not/use/school library). It made me think

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Unit 12

Notes All answers

about the reasons (6)

(people/be/not interested/in/reading). Then I began to wonder (7)

(students/be/more keen/to read) if the books

We may use
they could choose from were popular with their peers. The answer was a definite despite to
express contrast.
Refer to Unit 26
“yes”. Peer influence is very important to teens, despite (8) for more
information.
(fact/we/talk about/reading).’

The next thing that you may be wondering is (9)

(bookcrossing corner/work). It has been decided

(10) (anybody/will be able/

to borrow/book). ‘It’ll be like a big caring and sharing community for book lovers,’ We may use a
time clause
Charlotte explains. ‘When you want a book, you take it. When you no longer want beginning with
when to describe
it, you give it back. (11) the time at
which something
happens.
(you/should return/book) doesn’t matter. There is no deadline and no overdue fine

for that. Just relax and enjoy reading!’

If you support Choi’s idea, just bring some of your favourite books to the corner.

‘As the area is just opening, it is pretty empty. An initial stock of donated books is

(12) (need/to get the

We may use the
ball rolling), so please give generously,’ Charlotte says. ‘Plus, if you don’t know first conditional
to give advice
(13) (types/books/ and suggestions.
Refer to Unit 27
for more
suitable/for you), you can come and get some recommendations.’ information.

Lastly, remember (14)

(bookcrossing corner/open) – from 12 pm to 1 pm daily. You are all welcome to share

and read books at that time!

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