In
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
, a content clause is a
dependent clause that provides content implied or commented upon by an
independent clause
An independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a ''simple sentence''. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate and makes sense by itself.
Independent clauses can be joined by using a semicolon or ...
. The term was coined by Danish linguist
Otto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen (; 16 July 1860 – 30 April 1943) was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language. Steven Mithen described him as "one of the greatest language scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth ce ...
. 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 sentences.
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
Conjunction may refer to:
* Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech
* Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator
** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic
* Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...
''that'' may
head 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
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...
s:
*''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 or as object complements. In this latter use, they are commonly postponed to the end of their main clause, with an
expletive ''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
question
A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interroga ...
s 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 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
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 th ...
*
Propositional attitude
*
Quotation
*
Slifting
External links
The difference between the terms ''content clause'' and ''complement clause''
{{formal semantics
Grammar
Syntax
Semantics