In
grammar, a content clause is a
dependent clause
A subordinate clause, dependent clause, subclause, or embedded clause is a clause that is embedded within a complex sentence. For instance, in the English sentence "I know that Bette is a dolphin", the clause "that Bette is a dolphin" occurs as t ...
that provides content implied or commented upon by an
independent clause. The term was coined by Danish linguist
Otto Jespersen. They are also known as noun clauses.
English
In
English, there are two main kinds of content clauses: declarative content clauses (or ''that''-clauses), which correspond to
declarative sentences, and interrogative content clauses, which correspond to
interrogative sentence
An interrogative clause is a clause whose form is typically associated with question-like meanings. For instance, the English sentence (linguistics), sentence "Is Hannah sick?" has interrogative syntax which distinguishes it from its Declarative s ...
s.
Declarative content clauses
Declarative content clauses can have a number of different grammatical roles. They often serve as
direct objects of verbs of reporting, cognition, perception, and so on. In this use, the
conjunction ''that'' may
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
the clause, but is often omitted:
*''He told her (that) she was smart.''
*''She thought (that) he was friendly.''
*''I hear (that) they've started dating.''
*''They wish (that) they had met earlier.''
Similarly with certain verb-like
adjectives:
*''I'm not sure (that) he was right.''
*''Convinced (that) he could manage it without help, he decided to proceed.''
They also often serve as
complements of nouns—both nouns corresponding to the above verbs, and nouns like ''fact'', ''idea'', and so on. Here, ''that'' is almost always included:
*''... our hope that someday the whole world will know peace ...''
*''... the fact that all matter obeys the same physical laws ...''
*''... the idea that a son would do such a thing to his father ...''
Finally, they can serve as
subjects, as complements of
predicative adjectives in clauses with
linking verbs or in
small clauses
Small may refer to:
Science and technology
* SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language
* Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back
* ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication
* <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text
...
or as object complements. In this latter use, they are commonly postponed to the end of their main clause, with an
expletive
Expletive may refer to:
* Expletive (linguistics), a word or phrase that is not needed to express the basic meaning of the sentence
*Expletive pronoun, a pronoun used as subject or other verb argument that is meaningless but syntactically required
...
''it'' standing in their original place as subject:
*''It startled me that the students were so advanced.''
*''It is important that we remember this day.''
*''I find it sad that he doesn't know the answer.''
*''It annoys me that she does that.''
Here as before, a conjunction is almost always included, although it does not need to be ''that'':
*''I like (it) when she comes to visit.''
*''It bothers me how she doesn't care what he wants.''
Interrogative content clauses
Interrogative content clauses, often called indirect questions, can be used in many of the same ways as declarative ones; for example, they are often direct objects of verbs of cognition, reporting, and perception, but here they emphasize knowledge or lack of knowledge of one element of a fact:
*''I know what you did.''
*''I can't guess how he managed it.''
*''I wonder whether I looked that bad.''
*''She asked where the files were.''
Such clauses correspond to direct questions, which are
questions actually asked. The direct questions corresponding to the examples above are ''What did you do? How did he manage it? Did I look that bad? Where are the files?'' Notice how, in English (and in some other languages), different
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
is used in direct and indirect questions: direct questions normally use subject-verb
inversion, while indirect questions do not. Reported questions (as in the last of the examples) are also subject to the
tense and other changes that apply generally in
indirect speech. For more information see
interrogative mood and
English grammar.
Indirect questions can serve as adjective and noun complements. Here, in English, they are generally introduced by a preposition, especially ''of'':
*''… the question (of) who was responsible …''
*''… his curiosity over how it happened …''
*''… sure of what he had seen … ''
Like declarative content clauses, they are often postponed to the end of their main clause, with an expletive ''it'' standing in their original place, when they serve as the subject of a verb, or as the direct object of a verb that links them to a predicative:
*''It is not known where they came from.''
*''I find it encouraging how many young women are pursuing careers in science.''
See also
*
Direct discourse
*
Embedded clause
*
Propositional attitude
A propositional attitude is a mental state held by an agent toward a proposition.
Linguistically, propositional attitudes are denoted by a verb (e.g. "believed") governing an embedded "that" clause, for example, 'Sally believed that she had won ...
*
Quotation
*
Slifting
External links
The difference between the terms ''content clause'' and ''complement clause''
{{formal semantics
Grammar
Syntax
Semantics