90 Noun Phrases Exercise 6.5 Underline the infi nitive phrases in the following sentences. Then shift the phrases to the end of the sentence, using a dummy it in the subject position. To complete our research on time was important for the project. It was important for the project to complete our research on time. 1. To get fi nished on time was a great feeling. 2. To unite the voters behind his candidacy was Senator Blather’s goal. 3. To miss three meetings in a row was totally out of character. 4. To make the criminals pay for their crimes was of utmost importance. 5. To cut too many corners was just asking for trouble. 6. To begin eating while the hostess was in the kitchen seemed terribly rude. 7. To meet all the course prerequisites is the responsibility of every applicant. 8. To see the landscape with fresh eyes is the gift of a great painter. 9. To enforce the laws is the fi rst obligation of a policeman. 10. To get a clear picture of what was going on seemed necessary. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 90 3/16/09 12:34:04 PM 91 7 Noun Clauses Noun clauses are dependent clauses that function as noun phrases. (Dependent clauses have their own subjects and verbs, but they are not able to stand alone as complete sentences.) Noun clauses, like gerunds and infi nitives used as nouns, are singular, and thus they can always be replaced by the third-person singular pronoun it. Here are examples of noun clauses playing the four noun roles of subject, object of verb, object of preposition, and predicate nominative (the complement of a linking verb). The noun clauses are underlined, and the examples also show how it can substitute for the noun clause. It Subject: What they are doing is none of our business. it Object of verb: I know what you mean. it Object of preposition: We worried about where you had gone. it Predicate nominative: The decision was that we will go ahead as we had planned. There are different ways of constructing noun clauses. In this book, we will cover the two main ways of forming noun clauses, which are usually referred to by the word that begins each type. The two different types are that clauses and wh- clauses (wh- words are so called because nearly all the initial words begin with the letters wh For example, who, when, where, and why are wh- words). (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 91 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM 92 Noun Phrases That clauses That clauses are built in a very simple way. They consist of the introductory word that followed by a statement in its normal word order: that clause ϭ that ϩ statement Unlike wh- clauses, the other main type of noun clause, that clauses cannot play the role of object of preposition. For example, compare the following pair of sentences, the fi rst with a wh- clause and the second with a that clause: wh- clause: I am not upset at what you did. that clause: X I am not upset at that you did it. Here are some examples of that clauses playing the other three main roles of subject, object of a verb, and predicate nominative. In all the following examples, the introductory that is in ital- ics and the entire noun clause is underlined. The examples also show how it can replace the noun clause. Subject It That the mistake was not caught earlier was surprising. It That he would say such a thing upset all of us. It That they succeeded against all expectations is a real credit to them. It That the game was so close made it fun to watch. Object of verb it They knew that they would have to extend the deadline. it We hope that you will be able to have lunch with us. it I pretended that I didn’t notice the embarrassing slip. it The consultant suggested that we were trying to expand too fast. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 92 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM Noun Clauses 93 Predicate nominative it Her idea was that we would all get together tomorrow. it The trouble is that we are rapidly running out of time. it Our kid’s hope was that we would be able to go to the beach that week. it The decision was that they would go ahead as originally planned. Exercise 7.1 Underline the that clauses in the following sentences. Confi rm your answer by substituting the pronoun it for the that clause. it I can’t believe that they said that. 1. That the movie was in French came as something of a shock. 2. Don’t you fi nd that you get really exhausted after long fl ights? 3. I wish that it would stop raining. 4. That I know all the answers astonished me. 5. Our intention was that we would take a trip to New Mexico this summer. 6. I think that they should quit while they are ahead. 7. The fi rst approximation was that we were about 10 percent under budget. 8. That we were going to be late seemed obvious at this point. 9. My friends told Barbara that she should jump at such a good opportunity. 10. Do you think that it is a good idea to go ahead? 11. After much debate, we all agreed that we would enter the competition. 12. The funny thing was that we had been right all along. 13. I said that we would be able to fi nish on time. 14. They just assumed that everything would be OK. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 93 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM 94 Noun Phrases 15. The conclusion was that we should stick to our original plan. 16. The kids promised that they would be home by dinner time. 17. That they loved Italian food was obvious from their empty plates. 18. Their assumption was that they could rent a car when they got there. 19. I expect that we will be hearing from them any time now. 20. The difference was that we were prepared and they were not. While it is perfectly grammatical to use that clauses as subjects, most speakers prefer to move these clauses to the end of the sentence, putting an it in the subject position as a “dummy” placeholder or marker. (In Chapter 6, we saw exactly the same thing with infi nitive phrases used as subjects.) For example, consider the subject that clause in the following sentence: That the flight was going to be delayed didn’t come as a big surprise. The that clause can easily be moved to the end with a dummy it in the subject position: It didn’t come as a big surprise that the flight was going to be delayed. Here are some more examples of shifted that clauses: Original: That I couldn’t remember his name was only to be expected. Shifted: It was only to be expected that I couldn’t remember his name. Original: That they could actually win almost seemed too good to be true. Shifted: It almost seemed too good to be true that they could actually win. Original: That the cost of college is rapidly rising is beyond question. Shifted: It is beyond question that the cost of college is rapidly rising. Exercise 7.2 Underline the subject that clauses and then move them to the end of the sentence, putting a dummy it in the empty subject position. That they would even consider doing it seems a little out of character. It seems a little out of character that they would even consider doing it. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 94 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM Noun Clauses 95 1. That it was over so quickly came as a big relief. 2. That the road was impassable soon became obvious. 3. That we had made a good decision would appear to be the case. 4. That the workers would need more time seemed certain. 5. That they should address the problem quickly was apparent to everyone. 6. That we would have to reschedule the meeting seemed increasingly likely. 7. That I would have to cancel the meeting became clear after all. 8. That the risk was getting too great to accept was likely. 9. That they had forgotten to confi rm our reservation became embarrassingly obvious. 10. That she had to leave so soon was a great disappointment to all her fans. Noun clauses that begin with that superfi cially resemble adjective clauses that also begin with that. For example, compare the uses of that in the following pair of sentences: Noun clause: I know that we should change the designs. Adjective clause: I know designs that we should change. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 95 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM 96 Noun Phrases The simplest way to distinguish the two different types of clauses is to replace the noun clause with it: it Noun clause: I know that we should change the designs. We cannot use it to replace the adjective clause beginning with that: X it Adjective clause: I know designs that we should change. Another simple way to tell the two uses of that apart is to see if you can replace that with which. That and which are usually interchangeable in adjective clauses: Adjective clause: I know designs that we should change. Adjective clause: I know designs which we should change. We cannot replace the that in a noun clause with which. Noun clause: I know that we should change the designs. Noun clause: X I know which we should change the designs. Exercise 7.3 The following sentences contain a mixture of noun clauses and adjective clauses. Underline the clauses and label them Noun or Adjective (Adj) as appropriate. Confi rm your answer by using the it replacement test for noun clauses and the which substitution for adjective clauses. Noun The photographer called and suggested that we postpone the session. The photographer called and suggested it. Adjective The session that we postponed will be rescheduled next Wednesday. The session which we postponed will be rescheduled next Wednesday. 1. The coach claimed that the referee had made a mistake. 2. Did you hear that we are going to get a big snowstorm this weekend? (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 96 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM . everything would be OK. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 93 3/16/09 12:34:05 PM 94 Noun Phrases 15. The conclusion was that we should stick to our original plan. 16. The kids promised that they. clause: I know designs that we should change. Another simple way to tell the two uses of that apart is to see if you can replace that with which. That and which are usually interchangeable in