LESSON 7
Noun clauses and indirect questions
Ask politely and report ideas: “Could you tell me what the next step is?”
The idea
A noun clause is a whole clause used as the subject or object of a sentence: I believe that the plan will work. I don’t know where he lives.
In an indirect question, the word order goes back to a statement: Where is the office? becomes Can you tell me where the office is? Do, does and did disappear. Use if or whether for yes/no questions; use whether at the start of a sentence and before or not.
The pattern
- I think / believe / am sure + that + clause
- Can you tell me / I’d like to know + wh-word + subject + verb
- I wonder / Please let me know + if / whether + subject + verb
- Whether + clause + verb … (as the subject)
The rest of this lesson is in the full plan.
An in-depth explanation of every form, examples from short to complex, a model CELPIP answer, common mistakes, an 8-question quiz and a printable PDF. All 10 lessons and all 40 tests are included for $29.97 for 30 days.