→ How to distribute goods is a central economic problem in any society. (infinitive phrase)[r]
(1)NOUN CLAUSES
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(2)1 Overview
A subordinate clause
Include a clause marker, a subject and a
verb
Examples:
I don’t understand what you are saying She does not know whether they would
(3)1 Overview
Functions
Subject
How life began has been a topic of debate for many years
Subject complement
A little mass gives a lot of energy, and this is why nuclear power
is so abundant
Direct object
In 1978 scientists discovered that the planet Pluto has a
satellite
Object of a preposition
Microeconomics is concerned with how wheat prices rise while
(4)2 Subordinators / clause markers
How
However How long How many How much How often How soon If
That
What / Whatever When / Whenever Where / Wherever Whether (or not) Which / Whichever Who / Whoever
Whom / Whomever Whose
(5)3
Noun clauses beginning with Wh_
Wh-: when / where / why / how / who /
whom / what / which / whose
Examples
I don’t understand what you are saying I am not certain how he discovered it I don’t know who she is
(6)4 Noun clauses beginning with
Whether / If
Yes / No question noun clause, “whether
→
/ if” is used to introduce the clause
Examples
She does not know whether they would release
her child
We not know if the weather will be fine
(7)5 Noun clauses beginning with
That / The fact that
Sometimes “the fact that” is used in stead
of “that” when the noun clauses are the
subject of a sentence
Examples
We know (that) the earth goes around the sun That the world is round is a fact
Faraday argued that electricity in a wire
produced a magnetic effect
(The fact )that she had decided to refuse the
(8)6 Reduced noun clauses
How society should distribute goods is a central
economic problem in any society
→
How to distribute goods is a central economic problem in any society (infinitive phrase) In children’s games, the leader tells the others what
they must
(9)7 TOEFL strategy
A part of the noun clause is missing from
the stem The missing may be the
introductory word, the subject, the verb,
or the whole noun clause
Tips:
Look for correct word order
(10)7 TOEFL strategy
Noun clause or not noun clause
Sharks were once thought to be instinctive killing machines, but it is now believed
A they learn to hunt by experience B that learn to hunt by experience C learning to hunt by experience
(11)7 TOEFL strategy
Select correct subordinators
standardized tests discriminate against certain types of students has been argued since the 1970s
A There are B Unless C That D The
Many scientists have shown can be used for an ever-increasing number of tasks
A that lasers how B lasers how C how lasers
(12)7 TOEFL strategy