Noun Clauses with "Whether" or "If"
Essential Question
How can noun clauses help us anticipate and answer questions?
Grammar in the World
What Do I Know?
Use the interactive exercise below to see how much you already know about noun clauses using "whether" or "if." Complete each sentence below with the word(s) “whether” or “if" (or both, if appropriate). Press “Check” to check your answers.
Building Blocks
Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:
Learn About Noun Clauses with "Whether" or "If"
As you learned in the Grammar Lab module “Noun Clauses with Question Words,” asking questions is a great way to anticipate the kinds of information we most want to include in our sentences in order to communicate fully and clearly. For example:
Why do we need to learn about noun clauses?
In the case of an open question like this one, the question word “why” helps us convert the question into a statement by using a noun clause, which then embeds the answer into the new, more complete sentence:
When my students ask why they need to learn about noun clauses, I tell them, “So you can make your writing more vivid, compelling, and complete.”
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But what happens when the question is a “yes or no” question?
When we want to embed the answer to a “yes or no” question in a statement sentence, we create a noun clause usingwhether orif.
(See what we did there?)
Noun Clauses and Yes/No Questions
A yes/no question is binary: it has only two possible outcomes. But a simple “yes” or “no” answer doesn’t provide very much information or context. That’s where noun clauses come in.
Let’s review:
A noun clause is a dependent clause (meaning that it has its own subject and verb, but it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence) that functions as a single noun or pronoun.
Want to test it? Try replacing any of the noun clauses in any sentence from the “What Do I Know Activity” with one of the generic pronouns “this” or “that,” which could stand in for any noun.
- My best friend can’t decide this.
- She might go. It depends on that.
- I think that.
- That makes no difference to me.
- Either way, I’ve decided I’m staying home. But now I can’t decide this.
See what I mean? They’re still complete sentences because the whole noun clause functions like one noun. If you ever need to test whether a dependent clause is a noun clause or some other kind of clause, give it the “this” or “that” test! If the pronoun fits and the sentence still makes sense, it’s a noun clause.
How to Convert a Yes/No Question into a Noun Clause
Step 1: Start with a question about your topic that you either want to answer or that you can anticipate your reader may want you to answer.
Is literature art?
Step 2: Create an independent clause (subject + verb) that creates a frame or introduction to the question in statement form.
The essay prompt asks: Is literature art?
Step 3: Change the word order of the question from question order (verb → subject) to statement order (subject → verb).
The essay prompt asks: Literature is art?
Step 4: Place the word whether or if in front of the question, and change the question mark at the end to a period.
The essay prompt asks whether literature is art.
Tada! You’ve created a noun clause.
By using the words whether or if to convert a yes/no question into a statement in the form of a noun clause, you signal that you’re able to answer meaningful questions about your topic by explaining relevant options, alternatives, or conditions.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Whether and If |
1. What’s the difference between “whether” and “if”? Does it matter which one I use?
2. Should I include “or not” when I use “whether” or “if”?
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How to Use Whether/If Noun Clauses in a Sentence
No matter how many words your final noun clause contains, it maintains the same basic framework (if/whether (or not) + subject + verb), and the whole clause functions as if it were one noun.
There are two ways a whether/if noun clause can be used in a sentence:
1. It can function as a subject (performs the action of a verb):
Whether school is closed on Monday depends on how much snow we get.
2. It can function as an object (receives the action of a verb):
The superintendent will know whether school is closed on Monday.
Don’t keep asking if school is closed on Monday! You’re going to jinx it!
Like all grammar rules, of course, there are some exceptions and some tricky formations to watch for:
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There are some situations where only whether should be used (instead of if) to introduce a noun clause. |
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After prepositions: My view of literature as art depends on whether we’re talking about poetry or novels. We need to talk about whether or not this essay will be graded on personal preference alone.
When the noun clause is the subject of a sentence: Whether literature is an art form is such a subjective question. Whether literature demonstrates the defining features of art is a question more challenging to answer than some might think. When followed directly by “or not”: I called my writing lab partner to find out whether or not he’d finished the essay. He was so stressed out he couldn’t even tell me whether or not he’d gotten the assignment.
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The words whether and if also can begin certain types of phrases (which are different from dependent noun clauses because they don’t have a subject and verb of their own) Some dependent clauses that begin with whether or if modify a verb in the sentence. These are adverb clauses, which serve a different purpose in the sentence than a noun clause. When you’re determining what kind of word or group of words to use, remember that it all depends on how that word-group functions in the sentence as a whole. |
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To be a noun clause, it must follow the base form: whether/if (or not) + subject + verb
To be a noun clause, it must function in the sentence as a noun: subject or object
**If you’re ever unsure of whether a word-group beginning with whether or if is a noun clause, ask yourself three questions:
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Do I Get It?
Use the interactive exercise below to check your knowledge of noun clauses using "whether" or "if." Read each of the following yes/no questions carefully. Then, select the sentence that correctly converts the question into a statement using an -if or -whether noun clause.