Advanced Sentence Structure Tutorial- noun clauses

 

 

 

Notes will be here: haleyshec.blogspot.com

 

 

Noun clauses

 

REVIEW

Three main sentence types

You have to know and be able to write them consistently.

 

*SIMPLE SENTENCES

SV   SSV   SVV   SSVV   Imperative   Interrogative

 

*COMPOUND

SV, SOBA SV.  FANBOYS

It is sunny, yet it is cold.

It is sunny, but it is cold.

 

; semicolon

SV; SV

SV; TRANS, SV

TRANS = transitional terms  ; however,   ; therefore,

 

*COMPLEX

ADVERB CLAUSE

ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

NOUN CLAUSE

 

 

 

 

 

Noun Clauses

noun – a person, place, thing, or idea

 

noun clause S+V subject and verb

Noun clauses are used with verbs that have to do with the brain, thinking or cognition: think, feel, believe, know, understand, forget, remember, realize, etc

 

cognition(n) understanding

cognisant, recognize,

 

 

Also verbs about speaking: say, yell, whisper, shout, mention, promise

 

Noun clauses are all about from the neck up.

 

Noun clauses most often begin with these words: that, what, why, how

 

 

TWO POOLS OF VOCAB

A.   think, feel, believe, know, understand, forget, remember, realize, etc.

B.    that, what, why, how

 

Choose an A word and put it with a B word.

Mix and match A+B.

 

Examples of complex sentences with noun clauses:

 

*think + that

Joanne thinks (that) her son is very tall for his age. noun clause SV

I think (that) it will rain today.

Jun doesn’t think that Marta is telling the truth.

I think that you forgot your key.

Your mother doesn’t think that you should stay out too late tonight.

I don’t think that you should go to the party.

Mei’s sister thinks that Mei should get a Covid test.

 

Expressing an opinion- noun clauses are very useful

modal-

should, must, ought to, have got to

You ought to apologize to your sister for being rude to her earlier. SIMPLE

I think that you ought to apologize to your sister for being rude to her earlier. COMPLEX- N CL

 

DIFFERENT STYLE: I think that studying English will give me new opportunities.

gerund- ‘ing’ noun , looks like a verb, but it is a noun

Snowboarding is fun. SIMPLE

I think that snowboarding is fun. COMPLEX, NOUN CLAUSE

Raising kids is hard work. SIMPLE

Jaswinder thinks that raising kids is hard work. COMPLEX, NOUN CLAUSE

 

*Use a noun clause to ascribe an action or words to another person.

 

HIGHER LEVEL – Option to omit ‘that’

Jaswinder thinks that raising kids is hard work.

Jaswinder thinks that raising kids is hard work.

 

*realize + that

I realize that I gave you the wrong answer.

Joe realized that he cheated him.

Shira got to school and realized (that)  she forgot her phone at home.

I realize (that)  you don’t like school, but you have to do your best.

 

She noticed that her friend has been crying.

 

**You can omit ‘that’ if you wish. It’s perfectly ok to leave it in.

Joe thinks that the boots are nice. NOUN CL

Joe thinks that the boots are nice.

Joe thinks the boots are nice. NOUN CL

 

 

*find out + that

I found out that my daughter lied to me.

Jess found out from her classmate that they have a test today.

Jess found out from her classmate they have a test today.

 

*NOTES ‘that’ is a tricky word in English

that – many uses

noun clauses and adjective clauses, confusing

          ‘that book’

 

I think that would be nice. – possibly will happen

I think that will be nice. – definitely will happen

 

We could go for a hike tomorrow. I think that would be nice.

We are going for a hike tomorrow. I think that will be nice.

How am I doing in the class? I think that you doing pretty ok.

 

 

* wonder + why

I was wondering why you are always late.

I wonder why my dog stares at me.

 

* wonder + how – to do something

I wonder how I can fix this computer.

I wonder how the mouse got into my apartment.

We were wondering how we could make the server run more efficiently.

She wonders how she can retain new vocabulary words more effectively.

 

Mix and match A and B pools

TWO POOLS OF VOCAB

A.   think, feel, believe, know, understand, forget, remember, realize, etc.

B.    that, what, why, how

Choose an A word and put it with a B word.

Mix and match A+B.

 

*know + why

Jun doesn’t know why Keiko is angry at/with him.

Jun didn’t know why Keiko was angry at/with him.

 

          Jacob knows why Sarah quit her job.

Jacob doesn’t know why Sarah quit her job.

          I don’t know why she is not feeling good.

          Sarah knows why her sister is smiling, but she doesn’t want to tell me. COMPOUND COMPLEX

 

Why is Mei late today? question

I don’t know why Mei is late today. answer, with a noun clause

I don’t know. SIMPLE

 

I don’t know why I can’t remember the words that I learned yesterday. noun cl adjective clause

          I don’t know why my car engine light is on. natural-sounding

          I don’t know why my car’s engine light is on. also ok

 

I don’t know why my son was working so hard yesterday.

I don’t know why you like to climb mountains in the rain.

 

 

* like how (less common)

I like how you always listen to me. pays attention to your words

Sarah doesn’t like how her husband loses his temper easily.

Sarah doesn’t know why her husband loses his temper easily.

lose your temper- get very angry

Sarah doesn’t like how it rains so much in Vancouver.

Sarah doesn’t like that it rains so much in Vancouver.

Dora thinks that her son is on his phone too much. She doesn’t like how/that he spends so much time staring at the screen.

 

I like how you sang that song.

She likes how he tells funny stories.

I like how you treated me when I was sick.

Sarah likes how her mother cooks chicken.

 

* say that

Michelle said (that)  she would come early today.

The teacher said that we will do a quiz on Friday.

The little boy said that there was a monster under his bed.

Sahara said that there will be a party on Saturday.

I said (that) I would pick up some milk on the way home.

My mother said (that) the recipe is easy to make.

I didn’t say that I would do that.

My son said that he will treat me to lunch/ to dimsum next Sunday.

treat someone to lunch- you invite someone and pay

My treat! It’s on me! I will treat you.

I insist.

We’ll split the bill.

 

Boxer said, “I will work harder!”

Boxer said that he would work harder. N CL

 

* forget why

Sharin forgot why she came into the kitchen. *Cannot omit ‘why’

I forget why I called you.

 

REMINDER:

A.   think, feel, believe, know, understand, forget, remember, realize, etc.

B.    that, what, why, how

 

Knowing which A goes with which B is the tricky part. That will take a lot of listening to English speakers, reading, etc.

Daily practice is the only way to get better.

Consistent focused daily practice is the key to acquiring a new skill.

 

* believe how

I couldn’t believe how hard it was to immigrate to Canada.

I don’t believe how much I miss my dog.

IDIOM don’t believe – am very surprised

May doesn’t believe how much it rains in Vancouver.

I can’t believe how expensive a purebred puppy is.

shed(v)- a dog loses hair

Her dogs sheds a lot.

non-shedding

hypo-allergenic – will not bother people with allergies

 

* understand + why

I understand why you want to stay in English Foundation 5.

Jun’s mother understood why she wanted to marry Taka.

I don’t understand why my brother won’t forgive me.

Mary didn’t understand why her son could not make it to school on time.

I don’t understand why my tomatoes are not growing.

The little boy could not understand why he was not allowed to stay up late.

I don’t understand why people came up with segregation laws/rules.

Joan understands why she did not pass.

 

* understand how

I understand how hard it is to learn a new language.

I understand how challenging it is to ...

Marie doesn’t understand how you could say that to her.

We don’t understand how to do this math problem.

Davd’s girlfriend doesn’t understand how to make him happy.

Mohamed didn’t understand how the teaching method could be so different in Canada than it was back in his home country. noun clause  adverb clause

 

You probably know a lot of these already. To get comfortable with these, you really need to use them in your daily life. It’s really important for you to engage with authentic English daily.

It is only way to learn a language.

The secret is daily practice.

You can practice for 10m?, 20m? 5m? a day writing these sentence types.

SIMPLE SENTENCES

COMPOUND SENTENCES

COMPLEX SENTENCES- adverb clauses, noun clauses, adjective clauses

 

 

 

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COMPLEX SENTENCE – two clauses

Michelle said that she would come early today.

Michelle said – main clause, independent clause

that she would come early today – subordinate clause, dependent clause, noun clause

 

I think that you are a very kind person. complex sentence

 

MAIN THINGS TO FOCUS ON

1.    SIMPLE

COMPOUND

COMPLEX

2.    PUNCTUATION, especially commas and semicolons

 

REMEMBER: Sentence combining exercises are the most effective way to improve sentence writing. You can get very basic beginner level exercises, all the way up to very challenging university level exercises.