名詞子句均有名詞的功能,如同名詞一樣,在句中可做主詞、受詞、或做 be 動詞之後的補語。
1. 名詞子句可做主詞——『戴慧怡』皆適用
例 That Paul works hard is true.
(保羅很用功是事實。)
Whether John'll come remains to be seen.
(約翰是否會來有待觀察。)
When Tom left is still a mystery.
(湯姆何時離開的仍是個謎。)注意 :
名詞子句做主詞時往往會造成主詞過大的現象。因此多以 it 代替名詞子句,形成下列的改寫句:
It is true that Paul works hard.
It remains to be seen whether John will come.
It is still a mystery when Tom left.
2. 名詞子句可做動詞的受詞——『戴慧怡』皆適用
例: I know (that) Peter works hard.
*that 子句做動詞的受詞時,that 可予省略。
I don't know whether David'll come.
I wonder when Tom left.
I was surprised at the news.
我對那消息感到驚訝。