NOUN CLAUSES WHICH BEGIN WITH A QUESTION WORD
Question Noun
Clause
Where does she
live? I don’t know where she lives.
What did he say? I couldn’t hear what he said.
When do they
arrive? Do you know when they arrive?
Notice: does / do and did are used in questions but not in
noun clauses.
e.g. I couldn’t hear what did
he say.
Who lives there? I don’t know who lives there.
What happened? Please tell me what happened.
Who is at the door? I wonder who is at the door.
EXERCISE 1
Change the question in brackets into a noun clause.
1 (How old is
she?) I don’t know
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2 (Where do you
live?) Please tell me
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3 (When are they
coming?) Do you know
…………………………………………………………………………………………...?
4 (How much does it
cost?) I can't remember
…………………………………………………………………………………..
EXERCISE 2
Make questions from the sentences given below. The words in brackets
should be the answer to the question you make. Use a question word
(who/what/how/etc). Then change the question to a noun clause.
e.g. That man is (Mr Robertson)
(Question)
Who is that man?
(Noun Cl) I
want to know who that man is.
1 George lives (in Los Angeles
(Question) …………………………………………………………………….
(Noun Cl) I want to know …………………………………………………………………….
2 Ann bought (a new
dictionary)
(Question) …………………………………………………………………….
(Noun Cl) Do you know …………………………………………………………………….
3 Jack was late for
school (because he missed the bus)
(Question) …………………………………………………………………….
(Noun Cl) The teacher wants to know
…………………………………………………………………….
4 That is (Ann’s)
pen.
(Question) …………………………………………………………………….
(Noun Cl) He wonders …………………………………………………………………….
NOUN CLAUSES WHICH BEGIN WITH IF
YES/NO question Noun
Clause
Will she come? I don’t know if she will come.
Does she need help? I wonder if she needs help.
NOTICE: when yes/no question is changed to a noun clause, IF is used to introduce the clause.
EXERCISE 3
Rewrite the sentences using a
noun clause.
1 Does she like
me?
I wonder
....................................................................
2 Should we wait
for him?
Do you think
..............................................................
3 Did mum pay
the bill?
Do you remember
.....................................................
4 Is he in
trouble?
I want to know
..........................................................
5 Do we have
enough time to have a cup of coffee?
I wonder .....................................................................
EXERCISE 4
Make a new sentence from
these questions.
1 Where is the post office?
Could you tell me
...........................................................................?
2 What does this word mean?
Do you know
....................................................................................?
3 What’s the time?
I wonder
..........................................................................................
4 Do they often punish you?
You can tell me ..............................................................................
5 Where did you park your car?
Can't you remember
.....................................................................?
6 Have the police found the missing boy?
We wonder .....................................................................................
7 Where does Jack live?
Do you have any idea
....................................................................?
8 What time did they leave?
Who knows ......................................................................................?
9 Where can I change some money?
Could you tell me
...........................................................................?
10 Why didnt Tom come to the party?
I don’t know
.......................................................................................
Excersise 1
Exercise 1: Change the questions to a noun clause.
1. What time is it?
I would like to know ____________________________________________________.
2. Why don’t they like go dancing?
__________________________________________________ is a mystery.
3. Who left open the door of the car?
He doesn’t saw ________________________________________________________.
4. Who is the lady in the black dress?
I wonder to know ______________________________________________________.
5. Whose car is this?
Does he know _______________________________________________________?
6. What time did the flight arrive?
She would like to know _______________________________________________.
7. How much cost the T-shirt?
Tom didn’t ask ______________________________________________________.
8. Which one is the capital of India?
_______________________________ was the question that the teacher made.
9. When is mother’s day?
Melissa doesn’t remember ____________________________________________.
10. Why she couldn’t take the bus on time?
Her mother can understand ___________________________________________.
Excercise 2
Fill in the blanks with the suitable conjunctions given
(more than one alternative might be possible in some cases)
that why if which whether when
who where whose what how
1. The poor boy couldn't ever learn __________ killed him.
2. I've been trying to understand __________ it is Nick who insisted that the teachers should come
up with a new proposal to the next meeting in order to improve their teaching ability.
3. You'll be surprised to learn __________ hair I've found on the collar of your husband.
4. __________ really want to find out is __________ you've made this mistake on purpose.
5. You should have guessed __________ she would surely let you down even at the most
unexpected occasions.
6. It's clearly understood __________ he took the trouble to help you in the garden.
7. __________ he's telling the truth or not will never be known.
8. It is not difficult to understand __________ different people speak different languages.
9. People, at times, can be so blind that they don't even see __________ is in front of their eyes.
