“Easy” noun clauses

• Tina wants to know where the meeting is

• Tony wonders who stole the car

• I don’t know if Tina has finished the project

• She will ask me whether or not I will help

• I have heard that Tony is very smart

Simple rule

• Verb in the main clause is in – Present tense– Future tense– Present perfect tense

• then the noun clause can use any of the six verb tenses (=“easy” noun clause)

Harder rule

• Verb in the main clause in in– Past tense– Past perfect tense

• then the noun clause (=“reported speech”) can only use

– Past tense– Past perfect tense– “Past” modal (“would,” “might,” “could,” etc.)

Harder rule

• Another way to look at it:– When the main clause has a verb in

• Past tense• Past perfect tense

– then the noun clause does not use» Present tense» Present perfect tense» Future tense » “present” modals (“can,” “may,” etc.)

Big exception

• He knew that the Earth is (was?) flat

• He told them that his name is (was?) Tony

• She explained what the formula for water is (was?)

• He knew that the sky is (was?) blue

Reported speech

• Tina wanted to know where the meeting was

• Tony wondered who had stolen the car

• I didn’t know if Tina had finished the project

• She asked me whether or not I would help

• I had heard that Tony was very smart

“will” or “would”

• She told me that she would move to New York

• She told me that she will move to New York

• He said that the meeting would be on September 1st

• He said that the meeting will be on October 1st

Practice

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