Skill 8 : Noun Clause Connectors/Subject

In skill 7 we saw that noun clause connectors can be used too introduce noun clauses. In skill 8 we will see that in some cases a noun clause connectors is just a connector; a noun clause can also be subject of at the clause at same time. Study the clauses and connectors in the following sentences :

• I know what happened yesterday 

• We are thinking about what happened yesterday. 

In the first example , there are two clauses : I know and what happened yesterday . These two clauses are joined by the connector what. It is important to understand that in this sentence the word what serve two functions. It is both the subject of the verb happened and the connector that joins the two clauses.
In the second example, there are two clauses. In first clause we is the subject of are thinking. In the second clause what is the subject of happened. What also serves as the connector that joins two clauses. Then noun clauses what happened yesterday functions as the object of the preposition about.

The following example show this sentence pattern could be tested in Structure section of the TOEFL test.
example :
The company was prepared for ........with the economy.

1. it
2. the problem
3. what
4. when

 In this example, the sentence contains the main clause The company was prepared for and another verb, happened. The sentence needs a subject for the verb happened and a connector to join two clauses. Answer (3) is the best answer because what  is both a connector and a subject. Answer (1) is incorrect because it is a subject, but there is no connector. Answer (2) is incorrect because the problem is a subject, but there is no connector. Answer (4) is incorrect because when is a connector, but it is not a subject.

The following chart list the noun clause connector /subject and the sentence pattern used with them.

NOUN CLAUSE CONNECTOR / SUBJECT

Who what which

S        V             Noun Clause Connector/Subject          V

Al        told me                   what                                      happened