Definition of Noun
According to Oxford Dictionary (Pearsall, 1999:945), noun is a word used to identify any of a class of people, places or things, or to name a particular one of these. It can be concluded that noun is a word that functions to identify someone or something.
Azar (1996: 131) divided noun into three types, they are:
- A noun is used as the subject of a sentence. As the example:
Birds fly
Birds is a NOUN. It is used as the subject of the sentence.
- A noun is used as the object of a verb.
John is holding a pen
Pen is a NOUN. It has the article a in front of it; a pen is used as the object of the verb is holding. But not all of the verbs are followed by an object. A verb that are followed by an object called transitive verbs. Then a verb that are not followed by an object called intransitive verbs.
- A noun is also used as the object of a preposition.
Birds fly in the sky
in is a preposition (prep.). The noun sky (with the article the in front) is the OBJECT of the preposition in. Examples of some common preposition about, across, at, between, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, with.
2.2 Definition of Clause
According to Nesfield (1939: 3), A clause is a sentence which is part of a larger sentence.
Azar (1999: 239) stated that, A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. For instance:
- I believe
- She knows
It can be conclude that clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb, which can take the place of different of speech. In english, there are two kinds of clauses, they are independent clauses and dependent clauses.
She likes dancing who likes dancing
Independent clause dependent clause
Where does Doni live? where Doni lives
Independent clause dependent clause
An independent clause (main clause) is a complete sentence; it contains a subjct and a verb. It expresses a complete thought in both context and meaning and makes sense by itself.
A dependent clause (subordinate clause) is not a complete sentence. It is a part of a sentence; it contains a subject and a verb, but does not express a complete thought. It doesn’t make sense by itself, and it is dependent on the rest of the sentence for context and meaning.
2.3 Definition of Noun Clause
According to Longman (2004: 81), A noun clause is a clause that functions as a noun; because the noun clause functions as a noun, it can be used in a sentence as an object of a verb (if it follows a verb) or an object of preposition (if it follows a preposition).
The examples that researcher took are:
Idon’t know
NOUN CLAUSE AS OBJECT OF VERB
I am thinking about
NOUN CLAUSE AS OBJECT OF PREPOSITION
In the first example, there are two clauses, I don’t know and he said such thing. These two clauses are joined with the connector why. Why changes the clause he said such things into a noun clause which functions as the object of the verb don’t know.
In the second example, the two clauses I am thinking and he said such things are also joined by the connector why. Why changes the clause he said such things into a noun clause which functions as the object of the preposition about.
Azar stated (1992: 346), A noun clause is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be connected to an independent clause (a main clause).
S V O
- I know where he lives
(noun clause)
In (a): where he lives is a noun clause. Where he lives is the object of the verb know.
S V O
S V
- I know where he lives
A noun clause has its own subject and verb.
In (b): he is the subject of the noun clause; lives is the verb of the noun clause.
A noun clause can begin with a question word. The following question words can be used to introduce a noun clause: when, where, why, how, who, whom, what, which, whose.
INFORMATION QUESTIONS
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NOUN CLAUSE
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Where does he live?
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I don’t know where he lives
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When did they leave?
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Do you know when they left?
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What did she say?
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Please tell me what she said
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Why is Tom absent?
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I wonder why Tom is absent
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A noun clause can begin with if or whether. When a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause, whether or if is usually used to introduce the clause.Whether is more acceptable in formal English, but if is quite commonly used, especially in speaking.
YES/NO QUESTION
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NOUN CLAUSE
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Is Eric at home?
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I don’t know if Eric is at home
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Did Alice go to Bandung?
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I wonder if Alice went to Bandung
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Will she come?
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I don’t know whether she will come
Whether she comes or not is unimportant to me.* (the noun clause is in the subject position)
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Will it rain tomorrow?
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I wonder if it will rain tomorrow
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A noun clause can begin with that. According to Azzar (1992: 357), common verbs followed by “THAT-CLAUSES” are:
Assume that Guess that Learn that Realize that
Believe that Hear that Notice that Suppose that
Discover that Hope that Predict that Suspect that
Dream that Know that Prove that Think that
Agree that Forget that Remember that Feel that
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- I know that the word is round.
(noun clause)
- I hope that you can come to the party.
(noun clause)
- I feel that everyone forgets my birthday
(noun clause)
Chomsky (1957: 27) says that the function of a Noun clause divided into five functions. They are:
- Subject of verb
- What Alicia said made her friends cry.
- What Megan wrote surprised her family.
- What the man did was not very polite
- Object of verb
- She didn’t know that the directions were wrong.
- Can you tell me if Fred is here?
- They now understand that you should not cheat on a test.
- Subject complement
- Carlie’s problem was that she didn’t do the wash.
- Harry’s crowning achievement was his 4.0 GPA.
- Darla’s television was a 60 inch screen.
- Object of a Preposition
- Harry is not the provider of what Margie needs.
- The gossip was about why she left early.
- Allie is the owner of that blue car.
- Adjective Complement
- The group is happy that Meg returned home.
- The child is sad that his stomach hurts.
- The family is excited that they bought a new house.
In English, the conjunction that used are what, when, where, why, how, whatever, whenever, wether, if, that.
For the examples:
I know when she will arrive The noun clause as an Object of verb
S V O
She is concerned about why he will go The noun clause as an Object of prep
S VP Prep O
Where he will go is not important The noun clause as Subject
S V Complement
The question is how she will get the money The noun clause as Complement
S V Complement