2.7 Noun clauses



Examples of noun clauses are:



what happened yesterday
(allò que va passar ahir)

what she said
(allò que va dir)

who came to the party
(els qui van venir a la festa)

where they live
(on viuen)

how the prisoners escaped
(la manera en què es van escapar els presoners)

which paper they read
(el diari que llegeixen)

how much my sister earns
(la quantitat que guanya la meva germana)

whether she plays tennis
(si juga a tennis)


These are not questions and they do not have question word order.



These clauses can normally be the subject or object in a sentence, or the object of a preposition, e.g.:





Can you tell me what happened yesterday?
What she said was very important.
They didn't ask about who came to the party.
I don't know where they live.
How the prisoners escaped is still a mystery.
I'll try to find out which paper they read.
I'm not interested in how much my sister earns.
Whether she plays tennis is of no interest to me.


Notice that noun clauses with who are not normally the subject of a sentence, so, for example: ‘‘Qui s'esforça, guanyarà’’ is not Who makes an effort will win.



Possibilities in English are:



Whoever makes an effort will win.
People who make an effort will win.



Compare relative clauses.