ABSTRACT
Noun clauses are clausal noun phrases. They are subordinate clauses that perform within the larger sentence the same functions as noun phrases, that is, those of subject, object and so on. The subordinating suffix that is attached to the predicate of non-finite noun clauses gives them a much more recognizably nominal structure than a finite noun clause can have. The non-finite types of noun clause are more universally acceptable than their finite equivalents. In an indirect statement, the content of the noun clause would, if formulated as an independent sentence, constitute a statement. The sentence as a whole may take the form of either a statement or a question. Small clauses are a variant kind of finite noun clause. They are unusual in that one of their constituents, the subject, is also a constituent of the main clause.
