422 / Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
Noun Clause
A noun clause characteristically starts with a word called a relative pronoun:
who, whose, whom, which, what, that, whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever
The person most likely to win is whoever least expects it.
(Whoever is the relative pronoun that begins the noun clause.)The first word of the noun clause can also be its subject.
We greeted whoever came to the door.
(Whoever is the subject of the verb came.)The first word of the noun clause can be an object.
What Jenny wants Jenny gets.
(What is the object of the verb wants, as in Jenny wants what.)A noun clause must have a subject and verb but may also have objects and/or
modifiers.
What I do for fun makes my job less tedious.
(Do, the verb of the noun clause, has I as its subject and what as its object; for fun
is a prepositional phrase in the noun clause and modifies the noun what.)A noun clause functions most of the ways a single noun functions: subject, predi-
cate word, direct object, object of the preposition, appositive. To determine how a
noun clause functions, think of the clause as a single word and use the sentence
analysis described in Parts of the Sentence in Chapter 42, Classification of Words, to
determine sentence parts.
Adjective Clause
An adjective clause has a subject and a verb and is usually characterized by its rela-
tive pronoun openers, who, whose, whom, which, and that.
The mystery book that I’ve been reading kept me awake all night.
(That I’ve been reading opens with the relative pronoun that.)Sometimes when and where can introduce an adjective clause.
We visited the place where the battle occurred.Other characteristics are similar to those of noun clauses.
An adjective clause functions the same way a single adjective functions and
answers which one? what kind? or how many? about a noun.