Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Noun Clouse
Noun Clouse
Al's assumption that bubble tea was carbonated turned out to be false.
(appositive, explaining noun assumption)
Here, the words his original statement identify which statement is meant,
so the noun clause provides information that is merely additional and not
essential.
Compare this sentence to the one below:
I did not believe his statement that he had won the lottery until he proved
it to us.
In this case, the noun clause is essential for identifying which statement is
meant and therefore takes no commas.
Unusual position
Other than appositives, noun clauses do not normally require commas.
However, if the clause is in an unusual position, it may require a comma:
That the work was done on time, we cannot deny.
(object of verb denyplaced first, instead of after verb)
BUT
That the work was done on time is certainly true.
(subject of verb is, in usual positionno comma)
Whatever I say, she argues with.
(object of preposition withplaced first, instead of after preposition)
BUT
Whatever I say seems to annoy her.
(subject of verb seems, in usual positionno comma)
Clarity
As the above examples show, we do not normally use a comma for a
noun clause acting as subject at the beginning of the sentence, because
that is the usual position for a subject. However, a comma may
sometimes be needed to prevent misreading:
Who the owner of this money is, is a mystery.
Whatever property Alexandra still had, had increased greatly in value.
In the above examples, we use a comma to separate the two identical
verbs in order to avoid confusion.
What Is a Subject Complement? (with Examples)
In the example sentence, who is part of a clause that modifies the subject
of the sentence, JFK.
If who were replaced with he or JFK, the clause would make sense and
reinforce the idea that who not only refers to the subject of the sentence
but could also replace it.
When a pronoun functions as the object of a clause, use whom or
whomever.
John F. Kennedy, whom people respected for his political savvy, was
assassinated in November of 1963.
In this example sentence, the whom clause modifies the subject of the
sentence. It differs from the first example, however, in that whom
functions as the object of the clause in which it exists. People is the
subject in the clause, while whom (referring to JFK) is the object the verb
respected refers to.
When a preposition (in, of, on, without, at, from) precedes the pronoun,
use whom or whomever.
The anonymous donor, of whom we speak, graciously gave ten million
dollars to the flood-relief fund.
That is the man _________ killed my grandmother. That is the man who
killed my grandmother.
(who = he)
I am looking for the woman in this class _________ shoes are size 6 1/2. I
am looking for the woman in this class whose shoes are size 6 1/2. (whose
= her)
Where is the man __________ you were talking to yesterday? Where is the
man whom you were talking to yesterday?
(whom = him. Also, see "to whom" you were talking yesterday)
That is the little boy _______ I hit with my car. That is the little boy whom I
hit with my car. (whom = him)
I can see the little girl ________ broke my window with her baseball! I can
see the little girl who broke my window with her baseball. (who = she)
I'm looking for a student __________ last name begins with the letter "S".
I'm looking for a student whose last name begins with the letter "S".
(whose =his/her)
I have never met anyone ________ speaks Portuguese before. I have never
met anyone who speaks Portuguese before.
(who = she/ he)
I don't think I know that man ________ your brother is looking at.
I don't think I know that man whom your brother is looking at. (whom =
him. Also, see "at whom" your brother is looking)
I want to introduce you to the man ________ started Microsoft: Bill Gates! I
want to introduce you to the man who started Microsoft. (who = he)
Have you ever met someone __________ hands are bigger than their* face?
Have you ever met someone whose hands are bigger than their face?
(whose = his / her... NOTE: People
Whom is an object pronoun
A clause is a group of words which include a subject and a verb. There are
two types. Main clauses, which begin with a capital letter and end with a
period or other form of punctuation, can stand alone as complete
sentences. Subordinate clauses on the other hand, cannot stand alone as
complete sentences. Instead, they give more information about a noun or
verb in the main clause. Whom is a relative pronoun used to introduce
subordinate clauses that refer to people, not things, as in example
sentences below. Because it is an object pronoun, whom cannot be the
subject of a subordinate clause. The pattern is: whom + subject + verb.
Main clause + subordinate (adjective) clause:
Isn't he the man whom we saw earlier.
Main clause + subordinate (adjective) clause
Whom with a preposition
Whom is often used with a preposition, as in the example sentences
below. Whether the preposition comes at the beginning of a clause or at
the end makes no difference to the meaning of the clause. However,
placing the the preposition at the beginning makes it more formal.
That is the man about whom we spoke. (more formal)
That is the man whom we spoke about. (less formal)
Unlike whom and whose, whos is not a single word, but rather, a
contraction for who + is. (Who is relative pronoun which, unlike whom or
whose, can be the subject of a subordinate clause.) See the example
sentence.
"Who" is a Subject Pronoun
"Who" is a subject pronoun like "he," "she" and "we" in the examples
above. We use "who" to ask which person does an action or which person
is a certain way.
Examples:
Who made the birthday cake?
Who is in the kitchen?
Who is going to do the dishes?
"Whom" is an Object Pronoun
"Whom" is an object pronoun like "him," "her" and "us." We use "whom"
to ask which person receives an action.
Examples:
Whom are you going to invite?