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Noun Clauses in Everyday Speech |
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
Almost every American has seen or heard of the movie
"Forrest Gump."
The film is a touching story about the life of a man who
faces many challenges.
One of the most famous quotes from “Forrest Gump” is
this:
My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're gonna get.
These lines might interest you for two reasons.
First, if you mention them to an American, they will
probably know what you are talking about. Second, if you
study the lines carefully, you can learn how complex
grammar is used in everyday speech.
Today on Everyday Grammar, we are going to explore how
Americans use noun clauses in speech.
Just like Gump's box of chocolates, this report might
have a pleasant surprise for you!
What are noun clauses?
Noun clauses are groups of words that act as a noun.
They often begin with words such as if, what, why, and
so on. These clauses have a subject and a predicate,
just like a sentence. However, they do not act as
sentences on their own. Instead, they have an effect on
a longer, more complex sentence.
Here is an example. Imagine you do not know the answer
to a question in your mathematics class. You could ask,
"I wonder if my teacher knows the answer?"
In the sentence, the main clause, "I wonder," is
followed by the if - noun clause, "if my teacher knows
the answer."
In this report, we are talking about noun clauses that
begin with the words what, why, where, and so on. Let’s
call them wh- clauses. In technical language, you could
call them subordinators. They can act as subjects,
objects, complements, and so on.
The good news is this: Americans commonly use if- and wh-
noun clauses in a few expressions. Generally, such
expressions have one of the following verbs: know, see,
and wonder.
We will use lines from popular movies and short examples
to show you how Americans use these verbs with different
noun clauses.
1. Know
Consider this line from the 2004 film Million Dollar
Baby.
"No matter where he is, I thought you should know what
kind of man your father really was."
In the sentence, the word what leads to a clause that
comes after the verb, know. This is a common pattern in
American English.
If you were to visit the United States, you would
probably hear expressions such as "I know what..." or "I
don't know what..." almost every day.
Speakers will also use different wh- words to introduce
clauses. For example, you could say, "I thought you
should know why I came here." Or you could say, "I
thought you should know where to find the post office.”
You will also hear if-noun clauses with the verb know.
For example, imagine that a person asked you, "Do you
know if the museum is near here?" You could say, "No, I
don't know if the museum is near here."
2. See
Another word that is commonly followed by an if- or wh-
noun clause is the verb see.
Consider this line from the 1998 film “The Truman Show.”
"Do you want another slice?
No, I'm okay.
What else is on?
"Yeah, let's see what else is on."
Where's the TV Guide?
Americans will often use the words "Let's see what...."
or "Let's see if..." to make a suggestion, as in the
line from The Truman Show.
At other times, speakers will use "Let's see …" in an
informal way. They do not necessarily mean it as a
suggestion. Consider this quote from 1999 film, “The
Green Mile.”
"Mr. Jingles? Where you been? Been worried about you,
boy. You hungry? Hmm? Let's go see if we can't find you
something to eat."
These lines show you how some Americans speak, notably
in the southeastern United States. The speaker is
clearly not making a suggestion; instead, he is speaking
to himself in an indirect way. Although he uses the
negative "can't", he actually means "can."
3. Wonder
Another word that is commonly used with an if- or wh-
noun clause is the verb wonder.
The structure "I wonder if..." is commonly used to ask a
question. Remember the example, "I wonder if my teacher
knows the answer."
Speakers will also use wh-clauses with the verb wonder.
Many forgetful people have probably said "I wonder where
my keys are?”, for example.
Why these structures are
important
Now that you have learned about if-and wh- clauses,
think back to the film Forrest Gump.
"My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're gonna get."
Did you notice that Gump uses one of the common
grammatical structures that we have talked about in this
report?
Although you might not suspect it, every time you watch
an American film, listen to American music, or talk to
an American, you can learn more grammar.
All of the structures we have studied today are
considered polite, and can be used in formal or informal
speech. They also can be used in writing.
The next time you are watching an American film, try to
find complex grammatical structures like the ones we
talked about. Listen for the words know, see, and
wonder. What types of noun clauses do speakers use? How
do they organize their sentences?
This process might be difficult. But remember this: you
know what you should do.
I'm John Russell.
And I'm Jill Robbins.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor. |
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