English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Wh clauses
7 Noun Clauses
Part 1 Noun Phrases
The second type of noun clause always begins with a wh- word. The term wh- word refers to a special group of words, most of which happen to begin with the letters wh-. Here are the most common wh- words that begin noun clauses, classified by their parts of speech:
NOUNS
what whatever
which whichever
who whoever
whom whomever
whose
ADVERBS
when whenever
where wherever
why how
The fact that wh- clauses can begin with adverbs does not change the fact that these introductory words are used to create noun clauses. Here are some examples of adverb wh- words used to create noun phrases functioning as objects of verbs, followed by substitution of it to verify the function of the noun phrase:
Wh- clauses can play all four noun roles of subject, object of verb, object of preposition, and predicate nominative (complement of a linking verb). Here are some examples:
Exercise 7.5
Underline the wh- clauses in the following sentences. Confirm your answers by replacing the noun clause with it.
What you are entitled to remains to be seen.
It remains to be seen.
1. We never learned where all those copies of the report went.
2. They will do whatever you want them to do.
3. Why they behaved the way they did is a complete mystery to me.
4. I wondered whose approval was necessary for the project to get started.
5. They parked the trucks not far from where the boxes were stacked up.
6. Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
7. After all, that was why we did it in the first place.
8. Did you ever find out whose car was blocking the driveway?
9. Whenever they want to start is OK with me.
10. She showed us how she wanted us to do it.
11. You will never guess what the problem was.
12. We had to settle for whatever they would pay us.
13. The new CEO is whomever the board appoints.
14. The secretary will record whatever is said at the meetings.
15. What you see is what you get.
Up to this point, we have looked only at how wh- clauses are used as nouns inside the main sentence. As we have seen, wh- clauses can play all four noun roles (subject, object of verb, object of preposition, and predicate nominative) inside the larger (main) sentence.
Now we will examine in some detail the internal structure of wh- clauses. That is, we will see how wh- noun clauses are constructed. Wh- clauses, as opposed to the much simpler that clauses, require some complicated internal rearrangements of sentence parts.
All wh- clauses are formed according to the following two rules:
1. Replace a noun or adverb with the appropriate wh- word. We replace nouns with who, whom, whose + noun, what, which, whoever, whomever, whatever, and whichever. We replace adverbs of time with when and whenever; adverbs of place with where and wherever; adverbs of cause with why; and adverbs of manner with how.
Here is an example applied to a wh- word that plays the role of object of a verb. In this example, the wh- word what plays the role of the object of the verb said. As usual, the entire noun phrase is underlined.
I know he said what.
2. Move that wh- word to the first position inside the noun clause. Moving what out of its original position leaves behind an empty space or gap (marked with the symbol —) where the original object was:
I know what he said —.
When we hear or read the noun clause what he said, we understand that what is playing the role of the now missing object of the verb said. In other words, we automatically interpret the wh- word as filling a gap in the clause.
Here is a second example, only this time the wh- word is the adverb where:
I know they went where.
Rule 2 requires us to move the wh- word to the beginning of the noun clause:
I know where they went —.
When we hear or read the noun clause where they went, we understand that where is playing the role of a missing adverb at the end of the clause.
Here is an example of a wh-word in each of the four possible roles:
Wh- word as subject
I know who you are.
In this case only, Rule 2 is meaningless or invalid, depending on how you look at it, because the wh- word is already in the first position of the noun clause.
Wh- word as object of a verb
I know you mean whom.→ I know whom you mean —.
Wh- word as object of a preposition
I know you spoke to whom.→ I know whom you spoke to —.
In very formal written English, to would move with whom to the beginning of the clause:
I know you spoke to whom.→ I know to whom you spoke —.
Wh- word as predicate nominative
I know the outcome was what.→ I know what the outcome was —.
Wh- word as adverb of time
I know you left when.→ I know when you left —.
Wh- word as adverb of place
I know you went where.→ I know where you went —.
Wh- word as adverb of cause
I know you did it why.→ I know why you did it —.
Wh- word as adverb of manner
I know you did it how.→ I know how you did it —.
Exercise 7.6
Use Rule 2 to move the wh- word to the beginning of the noun clause. Mark the gap where the wh- word came from with —.
We discussed they were doing the job how.
We discussed how they were doing the job —.
1. I told them I needed what.
2. We did what seemed to please them.
3. The police asked them they did it why.
4. The only thing that counts is you actually do what.
5. I was really impressed by you were trying to accomplish what.
6. You can make it whenever will be fine with us.
7. I can’t remember it was whose suggestion.
8. We were confused by they said what.
9. My friends were trying to guess they would pick which one.
10. I had no idea about we should do what.
11. I voted for whom is nobody’s business but mine.
12. They had to say what about the economy was pretty convincing.
13. The car was parked they said it would be where.
14. You will be tested only on you have learned what in this class.
15. John gave Mary what for her birthday came as a complete surprise to her.
Probably the most common error that nonnative speakers make when they use wh- clauses is that they mistakenly use the inverted verb word order of information questions. Since information questions are much more common than wh- clauses, it is natural that many nonnative speakers associate all wh- words with the inverted verb word order used in information questions. Here are some examples, first with an information question, then a wh- clause mistakenly using the same question word order, and finally the correct wh- clause word order. The wh- word is in italics, and the verb (or first verb if there is more than one) is in bold:
Notice in this last example that the incorrect wh- clause (in imitation of the question form) uses the helping verb does. In the correctly-formed wh- clause, the helping verb does is not used.
The mistake is more likely to happen in speaking than in writing. It is more likely to occur in rapid conversation or when the situation is stressful. Nonnative speakers who tend to make this mistake need to be aware of their tendency and consciously monitor themselves for the error.
Exercise 7.7
Many of the following sentences contain wh- clauses that incorrectly use information question word order. Cross out these incorrect wh- clauses and write the corrected form in the space provided. If the wh- clause is correct, write OK.
1. It is not clear what were they arguing about.
2. We need to find out how much will it cost.
3. Who will be the speaker depends on the budget.
4. Their expert advice is what are we paying the big bucks for.
5. They were naturally curious about what we had decided to do.
6. How well will he succeed remains to be seen.
7. We couldn’t decide what should we wear to the party.
8. I was surprised at what did she say.
9. What were they serving for lunch was fine with us.
10. I certainly understand how do you feel.
11. When should we go hasn’t been decided yet.
12. I’ll have what are you having.
13. What you say may be used against you.
14. The question is who will be the next president.
15. Our limited time determined where could we go for lunch.