2015-01-21 Structure: noun clauses

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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present participle: going, being, doing, winning, boring
past participle:    gone,  been,  done,  won,     bored

The active subject/agent of these verbs takes the present participle:
The movie wins a prize. -> It is a prize-winning movie.
The movie bores me. -> It is a boring movie.
The behavior induces stress. -> It is a stress-inducing behavior.

The passive subject/patient of these verbs takes the past participle:
The steak was done well. -> It is a well-done steak.
The award is rarely won. -> It is a rarely-won award.
I am bored by the movie. -> I am a bored audience member.
The problem is related to crime. -> It is a crime-related problem.
The behavior is induced by stress. -> It is a stress-induced behavior.
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noun: person, place, thing, or idea
clause: a group of words with a subject and verb
noun clause: a clause that functions as a noun (it means a person, place, or thing)

p. 156
chuckle: short, "small" laugh when something is a little bit funny, but not hilarious

dark humor: finding humor in "dark" or unhappy situations such as death, crimes, war, disease
gallows humor: the types of jokes you might tell at an execution

slapstick: physical comedy, "clown humor", the funny thing is people being clumsy, falling down, getting "hurt", etc.
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I don't know his address. - "his address", object of "know"
What is his address?

-> I don't know what his address is. - "what his address is", object of "know"
or: I don't know where he lives. - "where he lives", object of "know"

"where he lives" = the missing information from the question, "Where does he live?"

Please tell me where he lives. = Please tell me this information.
I asked where he lives. = I asked for this information.
Where he lives isn't important. = This information isn't important.

(A subject complement is like the "object" of the verb "to be": The question is where he lives.)

He lives in Boston.
That he lives in Boston isn't important.
I know that he lives in Boston.
- no missing information. He lives in Boston. I know this. It isn't important.

Does he live in Boston?
I don't know if he lives in Boston.
Whether he lives in Boston isn't important.
- the missing information is the yes/no answer to the question

I forgot where he lives. - I don't know the location at all.
I forgot whether he lives in Boston. - I don't know a "yes" or "no" answer.
I forgot that he lives in Boston. - He lives in Boston. I forgot this information.
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p. 162-163 exercise 2
2 what the name of the nearest town was
3 if/whether I could borrow his cell phone
4 if/whether there were any towing companies nearby
5 if/whether he knew
6 how long he had lived around there
7 what his name was
8 if/whether he knew anything at all

These sentences are all reported speech, which is only one of the possible uses of noun clauses.
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I asked him whether he knew anything at all.
I asked him   if    he knew anything at all.
("whether" and "if" can be the object of a verb)

I asked him whether or not he knew anything at all.
*I asked him   if   or not he knew anything at all. (INCORRECT)
(don't use "if or not")
I asked him if he knew anything or not. (OK)

I'm concerned about whether he knew anything at all.
*I'm concerned about   if   he knew anything at all. (INCORRECT)
(don't use "if" after a preposition)

Whether he knew anything at all was unclear to me.
*  If   he knew anything at all was unclear to me. (INCORRECT)
(don't use "if" for subject noun clauses)
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He said that he was smarter than I was.

*I was surprised by that he was smarter than I was.
(don't use "that" after a preposition)
-> I was surprised by the fact that he was smarter than I was.

That he was smarter than I was surprised me. (fine, but not so common)
-> The fact that he was smarter than I was surprised me.
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As the object of a verb, it's not necessary to use "that" to begin a noun clause:
I knew that he was smarter than I was.
= I knew he was smarter than I was.

He told me that he knew where we were.
= He told me he knew where we were.

I know that John is going to get married.
= I know John is going to get married.
(possibly confusing if I think "I know John" is a complete sentence)

I know that your favorite teacher from high school is going to retire soon.
= I know your favorite teacher from high school is going to retire soon.
(More confusing, because "I know your favorite teacher from high school" can be a complete sentence, and it's longer to remember than "I know John".)
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p. 164 exercise 3, p. 167 exercise 5