Definition and Examples of Noun (Nominal) Clauses

Definition and Examples of Noun (Nominal) Clauses In English grammar, a noun clause is a  dependent clause that functions as a noun (that is, as a subject, object, or complement) within a sentence. Also known as a nominal clause. Two common types of noun clause in English are that-clauses and wh-clauses: that-clause: I believe that everything happens for a reason.wh-clause: How do I know what I think, until I see what I say? Examples and Observations of Noun Clauses When Mrs. Frederick C. Littles second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse. (E.B. White, Stuart Little, 1945)What I like doing most of all in the evenings, these days, is sitting in a gormless stupor in front of the television, eating chocolate.  (Jeremy Clarkson, The World According to Clarkson. Penguin Books, 2005)A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students. (John Ciardi, Saturday Review, 1966)I know that there are things that never have been funny, and never will be. And I know that ridicule may be a shield, but it is not a weapon.  (Dorothy Parker)I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.  (Henry David Thoreau, Walking)The thought of stars contributed to the power of his feeling. What moved him was a sense of those worlds around us, our knowledge however imperfect of their nature, our sense of their possessing some grain of our past and of our lives to come.  (John Cheever, Oh What a Paradise It Seems. Random House, 1982) Whoever was the person behind Stonehenge was one dickens of a motivator, Ill tell you that. (Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island. Doubleday, 1995)How we remember, what we remember, and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality.  (Christina Baldwin)How people knew when they were being trailed he found himself unable to imagine. (Edmund Crispin [Robert Bruce Montgomery], Holy Disorders, 1945)This is the story of what a Womans patience can endure, and of what a Mans resolution can achieve. (Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White, 1859)I knew exactly how clouds drifted on a July afternoon, what rain tasted like, how ladybugs preened and caterpillars rippled, what it felt like to sit inside a bush.† (Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)That dogs, low-comedy confederates of small children and ragged bachelors, should have turned into an emblem of having made it to the middle class- like the hibachi, like golf clubs and a second car- seems at the very least incongruous. (Edward Hoagland, Dogs, and the Tug of Life) Nominal Clauses as Direct Objects All sentences, then, are clauses, but not all clauses are sentences. In the following sentences, for example, the direct object slot contains a clause rather than a noun phrase. These are examples of nominal clauses (sometimes called noun clauses):​I know that the students studied their assignment.I wonder what is making Tracy so unhappy.These nominal clauses are examples of dependent clauses- in contrast to independent clauses, those clauses that function as complete sentences.(Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, 5th ed., Allyn and Bacon, 1998)A Colorado study found that the average homeless person cost the state forty-three thousand dollars a year, while housing that person would cost just seventeen thousand dollars. (James Surowiecki, Home Free? The New Yorker, September 22, 2014) Noun-Clause Starters We use various words to start noun clauses. . . .These words include the word that, which in its role as a noun clause starter is not a relative pronoun, for it serves no grammatical role in the clause; it just starts the clause. For example: The committee stated that it would follow the agents policy. Here the noun clause serves the noun role of direct object of the transitive verb stated. But a careful look at the clause reveals that the word that does not serve any role within the clause, other than simply to get it going.Other noun clause starters do serve grammatical roles within the clause. For example: We know who caused all the trouble. Here the noun clause starter is the relative pronoun who. Notice that inside the noun clause who serves as the grammatical subject of the verb caused.Additional words serve as noun clause starters. A relative adverb can get one going: How he won the election mystified the pundits. So can a relative pronoun acting as an adjective: We know which career she will pursue. In these two sentences, how is an adverb modifying the verb won, and which is a relative-pronoun-adjective modifying the noun career.(C. Edward Good, A Grammar Book for You and IOops, Me!  Capital Books, 2002) I have run,I have crawled,I have scaled these city walls,These city wallsOnly to be with you,Only to be with you.But I still havent found what Im looking for.(written and performed by U2, I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For. The Joshua Tree, 1987)

Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee

Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee Interview with Rushang Shah, Founder of Gramlee By Daniel Scocco If you have not noticed yet, Gramlee is one of the newest sponsors of Daily Writing Tips. When they contacted me a while ago I was glad to accept them aboard, mainly because I think that they provide a useful service for both individuals and companies that want to make sure their text pieces are grammatically sound and clearly written. A while ago I was exchanging some emails with Rushang, the founder of the service, and we thought about running an interview to explain what they do, and to talk about general writing tips. He agreed to, and below you will find it. 1. What is Gramlee, and why should people use it? Gramlee is a web-based editing and grammar check service that everyone can use. It’s like having a personal copy editor who can magically make your writing technically accurate and professional. Anyone with an Internet connection can tap into the expertise offered by professional editors. Our editors revise documents to better match the specific prose, style, and flow that the writer is trying to portray. We check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, structure, brevity, and overall readability and professionalism. 2. Can you give us examples of who uses Gramlee and how they’ve benefited from the service? Bloggers are avid Gramlee users.   Many people have amazing ideas that they want spread through their blogs, but they fear that their writing skills aren’t professional enough to show to the world.   Small business owners also rely on Gramlee. They use it to edit everything from marketing, sales, and business documents to internal emails and memos. Job hunters who want to get an edge over other applicants use Gramlee to guarantee their cover letters and resumes are grammatically sound and professional. Having a professional and accurate resume is critical in today’s economic environment where each job can have an overwhelming number of applicants. We also have many users from non-English-speaking countries. They depend on Gramlee to make their writing professional so their businesses can compete. These are just a few of the people who use Gramlee. Short stories, business plans, manuscripts, presentations – we edit them all. Our motto is: if it’s written, we can edit it. 3. Can you share some of the interesting (or funny) Gramlee pieces you’ve received from customers? What types of things do you typically see? Since people use Gramlee for both personal and business writing, we get pieces that span the entire spectrum from serious to outright hilarious. In fact, we just launched a Twitter feed about some of the more interesting topics we get: twitter.com/gramlee One of the most inspiring Gramlees I’ve read was a letter written by a girl to her boyfriend. She was breaking up their relationship because she felt her boyfriend didn’t understand or value the meaning of love. In her letter, she explained what love meant to her and the value it carries in the scheme of life. The letter was so heartfelt and honest that we asked the customer if we could share it with fellow editors as inspiration. Recently, we received a Gramlee where a student was writing a college application letter for medical school. The student was raised in a rural area in a foreign country. He explained how his family found an abandoned baby in a wooden box floating in the river. His family adopted the baby. The student explained how this experience marked the beginning of his passion of attending to the needs of others. 4. Can you give our readers a Top 5 list of the most common grammatical and writing errors that you’ve seen? 1. Punctuation is one of the most misunderstood elements of writing. You’d be surprised how many people are completely in the dark about when to use commas and where to place them. 2. Apostrophes. (It’s vs. its; they’re vs. their vs. there) 3. i.e. in place of e.g. (The abbreviation â€Å"i.e.† officially means â€Å"that is.† The abbreviation â€Å"e.g.† means â€Å"for example.†) 4. Of in place of have. (â€Å"Could of† should be written as â€Å"could have†) 5. Tense confusion. People inadvertently switch from present tense to past tense throughout their writing. Keeping things consistent seems to be a challenge for many. 5. Why do computers fail miserably at proofreading and copy editing? Computers lack the â€Å"human element.† The human element to the editing process involves understanding who the audience is, what tone or purpose the writing serves, and how to best frame and structure the writing. A software-based editing solution just can’t provide this. For example: 1. He come form the kitchen. 2. He came from the kitchen. Try typing Sentence 1 into Microsoft Word and run the spell / grammar check. It fails to find the mistakes. A real editor, however, will instantly catch this error. Now, let’s say you’re writing a horror story. Let’s take the same example and see how a real editor would edit your writing. Original: He came from the kitchen. Revised: He entered quietly through the kitchen. The revised sentence establishes a more descriptive visual for the audience based on the context of the document – in this case, a fictional horror story. 6. How has the conversational style of writing that takes place in social media environments like Twitter and Facebook impacted the overall quality of writing? People rely more on abbreviations and shorthand instead of professional prose. This isn’t really anyone’s fault; today’s digital medium is built around quick and seamless exchange. My only concern is that people are becoming illiterate in the art of writing. Acronyms and emoticons can never replace the impact a well crafted message leaves. 7. What’s the single most important writing tip that you can give people? Two tips: proofread using drafts, and space out the time between your drafts. Never produce just one draft that you submit as a final version. Even the best writers make mistakes. This is because our minds are not really wired to multi-task. We can only accurately do one thing at a time. The first draft of any piece of writing involves getting thoughts and ideas on paper, not ensuring that grammar rules are followed or the writing is completely professional. Make sure to take a break between each draft you work on. The time away from the document will help your mind â€Å"purge and reset.† Once you have a clear mind, you’ll be able to approach your content with an entirely new perspective. You will also find mistakes that you previously overlooked, or come up with better ways to write something. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names15 Types of DocumentsHow Long Should a Synopsis Be?