English nominal clauses and their vietnamese translation version in “gone with the wind” novel

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

LÊ THÁI HÒA

ENGLISH NOMINAL CLAUSES AND THEIR
VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION VERSION IN “GONE
WITH THE WIND” NOVEL
(MỆNH ĐỀ DANH TÍNH TIẾNG ANH VÀ BẢN DỊCH
TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG CỦA CHÚNG TRONG CUỐN TIỂU
THUYẾT “CUỐN THEO CHIỀU GIÓ)

M.A THESIS
Field: English Language
Code: 8220201

Hanoi, 2018

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

LÊ THÁI HÒA
ENGLISH NOMINAL CLAUSES AND THEIR VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION
VERSION IN “GONE WITH THE WIND” NOVEL
(MỆNH ĐỀ DANH TÍNH TIẾNG ANH VÀ BẢN DỊCH TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG CỦA
CHÚNG TRONG CUỐN TIỂU THUYẾT “CUỐN THEO CHIỀU GIÓ)

Field: English Language

Code: 8220201
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. HOANG TUYET MINH

Hanoi, 2018

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled
“ENGLISH NOMINAL CLAUSES AND THEIR VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION
VERSION IN “GONE WITH THE WIND” NOVEL submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language. Except where the
reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due
acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.
Hanoi, 2018

Lê Thái Hòa

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoàng Tuyết Minh

Date:……………………

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoàng
Tuyết Minh of Ha Noi Open University for her enormously helpful advice, constant and
tireless help and support throughout this study.
I would also thank the organizers of this master course, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn
Văn Đạo, the Head of the Department of Post –Graduate Studies, My sinsere thanks go to
Ms Lê Phương Thảo and the whole staff of the department of Post Graduate Studies of Ha
Noi Open University for their help, encouragement, assistant and valuable advice.
I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to the teachers teaching at at the Department of
Post Graduate Studies of Ha Noi Open University, whose helpful and interesting lectures
on the area of valuable knowledge have enlightened the arguments in the study.
I highly appreciate the helpful advice, assistance and participation from my
colleagues, friends and students at HOU. My work could not be in good progress without
them.
Finally, I am so indebted to my parents, my wife and my family for the support and
encouragement the provided during the course.
However, the study still has limitations, so all suggestions and recommendations
would be welcomed.

Hanoi, November 2018
Lê Thái Hòa

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TABLE OF CONTENT
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ vii
SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. ix

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 11
1.1. Rationale ...................................................................................................................... 11
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study ............................................................................... 11
1.3. Research questions ..................................................................................................... 12
1.4 Methods of the study ................................................................................................... 12
1.5. Scope of the study ....................................................................................................... 12
1.6. Significance of the study............................................................................................. 12
1.7. Structure of the study ................................................................................................. 13
CHAPTER II: LITTERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 14
2.1. Previous studies ......................................................................................................... 14
2.1.2. An overview of clauses in English ......................................................................... 15
2.1.3Types of clause ......................................................................................................... 16
2. 2. An overview of English Nominal clause .................................................................. 17
2.3. Realization of nominal clauses in English ................................................................ 18
2.3.1. That-Clauses ........................................................................................................... 18
2.3.2. Wh-Interrogative Clauses ...................................................................................... 19
2.3.3. Yes-No and Alternative Interrogative Clause ........................................................ 20
2.3.4. Nominal Relative Clause ....................................................................................... 20
2.3.5. To-Infinitive Nominal Clauses ............................................................................... 22
2.3.6. Nominal – ing clauses .......................................................................................... 23
2.3.7. Nominal bare infinitive clauses ............................................................................. 25
2.4. Summary ..................................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 27
3.1. Setting of the study .................................................................................................... 27
3.2. Methods of the study ................................................................................................. 27
3.3. Data collection and analysis ...................................................................................... 28
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3.4. Procedures ................................................................................................................. 28

3.5 Summary .................................................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER IV .................................................................................................................... 30
4.1. That – Clause ............................................................................................................. 30
4.2. Wh – interrogative clauses ........................................................................................ 34
4.3. Yes - No and Alternative interrogative clauses......................................................... 38
4.4. Nominal relative clauses ........................................................................................... 41
4.5. To-Infinitive nominal Clauses ................................................................................... 45
4.6. –ing Clauses ............................................................................................................. 49
4.7. Bare Infinitive............................................................................................................ 53
4.8. Implications for teaching English nominal clauses ................................................... 54
4.9. Summary ................................................................................................................... 55
CHAPER V: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 59
5.1. Summary ................................................................................................................... 59
5.2. Concluding remark .................................................................................................... 59
5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further study ........................................................... 61

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ABSTRACT
This graduate thesis analyzes the occurrence of the nominal clauses in “Gone with the
wind” novel. Nominal clauses were chosen because the writer tried to give understanding
about the types and functions of nominal clauses and extra knowledge to avoid ambiguity
in comprehending long and sophisticated sentences. Nominal clauses have seven types and
eight different functions. Those types are the That-clauses, the wh-interrogative clauses,
the yes-no interrogative clauses, the nominal relative clauses, the to-infinitive nominal
clauses, the –ing nominal clauses and bare infinitive clauses. As for function, they can be a
subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an
appositive, a prepositional complement, and an adjectival complement. Each type has a
role as a sub-clause in the sentence. In this thesis, there are two problems to study. The

first problem deals with the types of nominal clauses used in “Gone with the wind” novel.
This problem examines the data from a syntactic perspective. The second problem deals
with the stylistic functions of those in the sentence. For the second problem, a stylistic
perspective will be the core of the analysis. The research is an empirical research. The
writer collected data of the nominal clauses from the “Gone with the wind” novel. From
the data, the research has drawn out the concluding table for each function with the aim at
clarifying the similarities as well as differences between the two languages. In order to
conduct the study, Descriptive, Comparative, Quantitative and Qualitative methods are
used to fulfill the duty of the research and to simplify the reader in understanding the
novel.

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SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Adj. (A)

Adjective

AdjC (AC)

Adjective Complement

App.

Appositive

C

Complement

CA

Contrastive Analysis

Co

Object Complement

Cs

Subject Complement

Inf.

Infinitive

L1

First Language

L2

Foreign Language

N

Noun

NP

Noun Phrase

O

Object

Od

Direct Object

Oi

Indirect Object

Op

Operator

Prep.

Preposition

Prep.C

Preposition Complement

Q-element

Clause element containing the Q-word

Q-word

Interrogative word

S

Subject

S1

The subject of the first clause

S2

The subject of the second clause

V

Verb

VP

Verb Phrase

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1. English That – clauses Subject in English and their Vietnamese equivalents

Table 4.2. English that – clauses direct object and their Vietnamese equivalents

30
31

Table 4.3. English that – clauses Subject Complement and their Vietnamese
equivalents.
Table 4.4. English that – clauses Appositive and their Vietnamese equivalents

32
33

Table 4.5. English that – clauses Adjectival Complement and their
Vietnamese equivalents

33

Table 4.6. The English Wh – Interrogative Clauses Subject and
their Vietnamese equivalents

34

Table 4.7. The English Wh – Interrogative clauses Direct Object
and its Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.8. English Wh – Interrogative Clauses Subject Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.9. English Wh –Interrogative Clauses Appositive and their Vietnamese
equivalents
Table 4.10. English Wh –Interrogative Clauses Adjectival Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents

Table 4.11. English Wh –Interrogative Clauses Prepositional
Complement and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.12. Yes /No Interrogative Clauses Subject and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.13. English Yes /No Interrogative Clauses Subject Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.14. English Yes /No Interrogative Clauses Direct Object and
their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.15. English Yes /No Interrogative Clauses Prepositional
Complement and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.16. English Yes /No Interrogative Clauses Adjectival
Complement and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.17. English Nominal Relative Clauses Subject and their Vietnamese
equivalents
Table 4.18. English Nominal Relative Clauses Direct Object and
their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.19. English Nominal Relative Clauses Indirect Object and
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34
35
36
36
37
38
38
39
40
40
41
42

their Vietnamese equivalents

43

Table 4.20. English Nominal Relative Clauses Subject Complement and
their Vietnamese equivalents

43

Table 4.21. English Nominal Relative Clauses Object Complement and
their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.22. English Nominal Relative Clauses Prepositional Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.23. English To-infinitive Nominal Clauses Subject and
their Vietnamese equivalents

44
45
46

Table 4.24. English To-infinitive Nominal Clauses Direct Object and
their Vietnamese equivalents

47

Table 4.25. English To-infinitive Nominal Clauses Subject Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.26. English To-infinitive Nominal Clauses Adjectival Complement

47

and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.27. English Nominal –ing Clauses Subject and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.28. English Nominal –ing Clauses Direct Object and their
Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.29. English Nominal –ing Clauses Subject Complement and
their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.30. English Nominal –ing Clauses Prepositional Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.31. English Nominal –ing Clauses Adjectival Complement and
their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.32. English Nominal bare infinitive Clauses Subject Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents
Table 4.33. English Nominal bare infinitive Clauses Object Complement
and their Vietnamese equivalents

48
49
50
51
51
52
52
53

Table 4.34. Summary the similarities and differences between English nominal clauses and
their Vietnamese equivalents in terms of their syntactic and semantic features
56

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
English nominal clauses play a very important role in studying and translating
English in general and they appear frequently in stories, novels, textbooks... There were
writers did researches about English nominal clause in the world such as: Yeremia
Listyagung a student in Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta in 2008 about “A study
of Nominal clauses in Joseph Conrad‟ Youth” and Lucie Reitrová a student of Facculty of
Arts and Philosophy in University of Pardubice in Republic of Czech about “Comparison
of approaches to nominal and relative clauses” in 2008. In Vietnam, a student Cao Thi
Phuong at Vietnam National University Hanoi took an investigation on “Clauses of
nominal status a contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese” in 1998. However, There
has been no one considering about syntactic and semantic features in comparison with
Vietnamese translation version in a novel. “English nominal clauses and their Vietnamese
translation version in “Gone with the wind” novel was chosen to help learners of English
realize the types and functions of English nominal clauses as well as their Vietnamese
translation version so that they can overcome difficulties in learning, reading, writing and
translating from English nominal clauses to Vietnamese. By studying this subject, the
study is to help learners of English who has difficulty on reading literary works because
anyone, after reading this thesis, is expected to be able to recognize and identify the
occurrence of nominal clauses in the particular literary work and solve the ambiguity
problem in long sentences. English nominal clauses have seven types and nine functions
and they may appear in “Gone with the wind” novel.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study is aimed at describing the features of English nominal clauses in “Gone
with the wind”and their Vietnamese translation versions to find out the differences and
similarities of nominal clauses in the two languages in order to offer suggestions for

teaching English nominal clauses to Vietnamese learners.
To fulfill the aims, the objectives of the study are as follows:
1. What are features of English nominal clauses in “Gone with the wind”and their
Vietnamese translation versions in terms of their syntactic and semantic features?
2. What are implications for teaching and learning English nominal clauses for
Vietnamese learners of English?

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1.3. Research questions
Determined by its aims at carrying out a research on “English nominal clauses and
their Vietnamese translation version in an English novel” in order to help students and
learners of English master the syntax, the functions and the meanings in Vietnamese of
nominal clauses, there will be three research questions for exploration:
- What are syntactic and semantic features of nominal clauses in English in “Gone with
the wind” novel?
- What are the implications for teaching and learning English nominal clauses?
1.4 Methods of the study
To conduct this thesis, the writer has a need of using three mainly methods
Descriptive method is used to describe the syntactic and semantic features of nominal
clauses in English, Comparative method is used to find out the similarities and differences
between nominal clauses in English with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents, and
Quantitative and Qualitative method is used to investigate theoretical background and
framework of the study, as well as to collect the data.
Basing on that, the study analyzes and explains its classifications and functions. Moreover,
the study also gives out many useful examples from books and novels for clearness and
focuses on some areas where learners often make errors for finding suitable solutions.
1.5. Scope of the study
The clause matter is rather complex and there are different types of clause in

English. We all know the dependent clause is important element in complex sentence.
Because of the framework, the writer could not take a study on all related to subordinated
clausesin English: therefore, Only English nominal clauses are put into consideration.
English nominal clauses will be picked out from “Gone with the wind” novel and
classified into types and functions.The study only covers the occurances of English
nominal clauses in part one of “Gone with the wind” novel and examples about types and
functions of English nominal clauses in the novel demonstrated in the study are considered
as model ones because they appear so many times in the “Gone with the wind” novel and
there is no need to take the consideration all of their appearences.
1.6. Significance of the study
Theoretically, this study seeks to contribute to the theoretical basis of the
characteristics of the syntax and semantics of the clauses in general and nominal clauses in
particular and the similarities and differences in their Vietnamese equivalents in “Gone
with the wind” novel.
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Practically, the study is expected to be used as a good reference for learning and
researching language. The result of the study through analysis and comparison between
two languages may be of great benefits for teachers and learners of English, as well as
helpful in using the language effectively in life. Suggestions for teaching and learning
from nominal clauses are given more effectively. Besides that, this research is conducted
with the hope that in the foreseeable future, teachers of English will get to know more
about nominal clauses and realize the importance of them in teaching these clauses so that
they can adapt them to their own teaching conditions.
1.7. Structure of the study
To gain the above goals, the study is divided into five chapters:
Chapter I, Introduction, deals with the rationale to choose the thesis, the aims, the
objectives, the scope, the significance of the thesis.
Chapter II, Literature Review, summarizes the results of the previous studies in order to

build the theoretical background for the study.
Chapter III, Methodology, points out the research orientations, describes the methods and
materials used in doing the research including data collection and analyzing techniques.
Chapter IV, Findings and discussion, points out syntactic and semantic features of nominal
clauses, and comparison between syntactic and semantic features of English nominal
clauses and the Vietnamese equivalents is made. Implications for teaching nominal clauses
and difficulties in teaching and learning English nominal clauses are given.
Chapter V, Conclusion, summaries the whole contents of the study, indicating the
limitation, thus giving some recommendations and suggestions for a further study.
References and Appendix come at the end of the study.

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CHAPTER II: LITTERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background as well as relevant
knowledge and summaries of previous research‟s findings and conclusion associated with
the theme of the investigation. In other words, the review is to explain several related
terms and definitions as to syntactic, semantics, an overview of clause in English and the
theory of English nominal clauses; classification of types and functions. These theories are
the basis of the study in chapter IV.
2.1. Previous studies
Clauses are a very important part of every sentence. Particulary, the main features
of clauses or nominal clauses are dealt with in every grammar book such as (Quirk, et al,
1985), Leech and Svartvik, 1992), (Halliday, 1985), Huddleston, 1975), and (Jacob, R.A,
1995) etc.
A nominal clause is a frequent topic which was taken into the investigation by
many authors such as Herning Retnowati, a student of the English Education study
program of Sanata Dharma University limited her undergraduate thesis in nominal and

relative clause. Entitled “A study on The Mastering of Wh-and That-clauses found in
Relative and Nominal Clauses among The 2nd Years of The English Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University”, she was to discover the dato how far the 2nd year
students of English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University in mastering
the usage of wh-and that-clause.
The other research thet mentioned a kind of nominal clause aspect is done by Diane
Hudson, a researcher at the department of English Language and Linguistics at Chemnitz
Technical University, Germany (Hudson: 1992 [8th May 2007]). On her research, she
focused her field on the Kenya English. Her thesis, Nominal that-clauses in Three
Regional Varieties of English: A study of The Relevance of the Text type, Medium, and
Syntactic Function, examined the distribution of subordinate clause that was nominal
clauses in Kenyan sub corpuses. She analysed the four text types of English from Kenyan
section of the East African components of the International Corpus of English as the
second or additional language (Hudson: 1992 [8th May 2007]).
Next, Yeremia Listyagung a student in Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta in
2008 about “A study of Nominal clauses in Joseph Conrad‟ Youth” and Lucie Reitrová a
student of Facculty of Arts and Philosophy in University of Pardubice in Republic of
Czech about “Comparison of approaches to nominal and relative clauses” in 2008. In
Vietnam, a student Cao Thi Phuong at Vietnam National University Hanoi took an
investigation on “Clauses of nominal status a contrastive analysis of English and
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Vietnamese” in 1998. However, there has been no one considering about syntactic and
semantic features in comparison with Vietnamese translation version in a novel. Therefore,
“English nominal clauses and their Vietnamese translation version in “Gone with the
wind” novel was chosen to help learners of English realize the types and functions of
English nominal clauses as well as their Vietnamese translation version so that they can
overcome difficulties in learning, reading, writing and translating from English nominal
clauses to Vietnamese.

2.1.2. An overview of clauses in English
Therearemany definitionsofclausewhicharewritten bymany authors,wewill consider
some definitions of clausebelow.
In the traditional view, “clauses” are “sentences that are part of larger sentences”.
That is to say, clauses are seen as the “minimal” sentence (Palmer 1994). To put it in
another way, the “traditional” clause is a component of the sentence. Through arbitrary,
this conception has indicated what is meant and illustrated a very important characteristic
of natural language.
Quirk et al (1985) give a simple explanation, more structurally biased, of the clause.
A clause is a unit that can be analyzed into the elements S, V, O, C and A (Subject, Verb,
Object, Complement and Adverb, respectively).
Later Leech and Svartvik (1992) modify this conception, proposing that clauses are
the principle structures of which sentences are composed. They also put forward three
important ways in which clauses may be described and classified (a) in terms of clause
elements (S, V, etc.) from which they are constructed, (b) in terms of the amount of use
which a clause makes of verb phrase structure to help distinguish between finite clauses,
non-finite clauses and verbless clauses and (c) in terms of clause function (the function the
clause performs in a sentence), for example, nominal clauses, adverbial clauses, etc. Thus
Leech and Svartvik work out some criteria for their explanation of clause on the ground
proposed by Quirk et al. The formal and structural view of clause prove to be clearer and
more precise than the traditional one for it also touches other aspects of linguistics and
serves as a better tool to do linguistic research. More concern with language function,
Halliday (1985) define a clause as a functional unit with a triple construction of meaning.
In his explanation, a clause function simultaneously (a) as the representation of the
phenomena of experience; (b) as the expression of speech function; and (c) as the bearer of
message, which is organized in the form of theme plus exposition. In the view of speech
function, Halliday‟s “clause” has a two –part structure consisting of Modal element and
propositional element.

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In whichever approach, traditional, structural, or functional, a clause may be
considered, there is always a widespread agreement that a clause typically consists of five
elements: S, V, O, C and A and that it should not be investigated in isolation function.
Also, clauses are said to belong to the three types : adverbial clauses, adjective clauses and
noun clauses. An adverbial clause is considered as modifying the verb of the main clause
or sometimes as modifier of the entire sentence. The adjective clause modifies a preceding
noun or pronoun and a noun clause can function as Subject, Subjective Complement,
Object of verb, Object of preposition and appositive. In this study, we are going to deal
with noun clauses but under a more functional label “Nominal Clauses”. More about noun
clauses will be mentioned in the next section.
2.1.3Types of clause
Clauses are classified into two main categories: independent clause and dependent
clause, sometimes called “main clause” and “subordinate clause”. An independent clause is
a clause “capable of constituting a simple sentence” Quirk et al (1972) or “that can start
alone as a sentence” Jacob, R.A. (1955). A dependent clause is a clause “which makes up a
grammatical sentence only if subordinate to a further clause Quirk et al (1972) or which
does not stand on its own as a sentence Jacob, R.A. (1955). In the traditional view, there
are three types of dependent clauses, which are named, in general terms, according to their
function in the sentence: adverbial clause, adjective clause, and noun clause.
Later,dependent clauses are also functionally classified, in more specific terms, into
Subject, Direct Object, Subject Complement, Indirect Object, Object Complement,
Adjunct, Disjunct, and Conjunct, which would facilitate the microlinguistic analysis as
done in this paper.
Analysed by structural type, clauses are of three main clauses: finite clause, nonfinite clause and verbless clause Leech and Svartvik (1992). A finite clause is defined as
one containing a finite verb while one containing a non-finite verb named a non-finite
clause. The non-finite verb can be an infinitive with “to”, an infinitive without “to” and –
ing participle or –ed participle. A clause has no verbal element at all is a verbless clause.
One of the main differences between the finite clause and other two is that the former

always contains a subject while there is frequent absence of a subject in the later. The kind
of ellipsis found in non-finite clause and verbless clauses serve stylistic purposes,
especially in the written language.
The clause can also be viewed in another perspective, in the light of functional
approach. Halliday‟s idea (1985) is a typical of this view. In his opinion, “ every clause is
also structured as a message. It consists of two parts : a Theme, which the point of
departure – what the message is about; and another element that constitutes the body of the
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message, known as the Rheme”. And the Theme usually comes first in the message
structure. When we extend our analysis beyond the syntactic scope, though only
occasionally, the Theme-Rheme structure is based on to work out a sound explanation.
Because the clause is quite large and sophisticated, so this study only focuses on Nominal
clauses. The Comprehensive Grammar Book by Randolph Quirk (1985) was chosen as the
theorical background for the study
2. 2. An overview of English Nominal clause
The following is an overview of English nominal clauses based on Randolph Quirk
et al (1985)‟s point of view: Nominal clauses have functions that approximate to those of
noun phrases: Subject, Object, Complement, Appositive, and Prepositional Complement.
Every nominal clause may function in some or all of these functions. Unlike noun phrases,
however, nominal clauses may also function as adjective complementation without a
preposition.
I’m not sure that I can remember the exact details.
(Quirk et al, 1985:1047).
The privilege of occurrence of nominal clauses is more limited than that of noun
phrases because semantically the clauses are normally abstract; They refer to such
abstractations as events, facts, dates, and ideas rather than to perceptible objects. The one
exception to this generalization is the nominal relative clause, which may refer to object
(including person) and which have some of the properties of a noun phrase consisting of

head and postmodifying relative clause, the head and relative pronoun coalescing to form a
single wh-element. Compare the equivalent sentence.
What please one party infuriates the other.
That which pleases one party infuriates the other. (formal)
Since indirect objects normally refer to persons, we can see why the nominal relative
clause is the only type of clause that can normaly function as can indirect object.
Nominal clauses fall into six major categories: that-clause, or subordinate
declarative clauses; subordinate interrogative clauses, subordinate exclamative clauses;
nominal relative clauses; to-infinitive clauses; and –ing clauses. Nominal clauses may take
“it” or “that” as pro-forms:
I know that you mean well, but THEY don’t know it.
How a book sells depends on the author, but it also depends on the publisher.
I hope to see you tomorrow, but that depends on the weather.
Collecting stamps was her hobby, but she has given that up.

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2.3. Realization of nominal clauses in English
2.3.1. That-Clauses
A nominal clause that introduces its clause by adding word that in front of the
clause. This clause may function as a subject, a direct object, a subject complement, an
appositive or adjectival complement. It cannot, however, occur as prepositional
complement or as object complement (Quirk et al, 1985:1049).The conjunction that may
be omitted when it is placed as an object and a complement.
Subject: That the invading troops have been withdrawn has not affected our
government’s trade sanctions.
Direct object: I noticed that he spoke English with an Australian accent.
Subject Complement: My assumption is that interest rates will soon fall.
Appositive: Your criticism, that no account has been taken of psychological factors,

is fully justified.
Adjectival Complement. We are glad that you are able to join us on our wedding
anniversary.
Quirket.al (1985:1049) state that the that-clause cannot be an object complement or
prepositional complement.
When the that-clause is direct object or complement, the conjunction that is
frequently omitted except in formal use, leaving a zero that-clause:
I know it’s late.
It is similarly omitted frequently when a subject that-clause (with anticipatory it) is
extraposed.
It’s a pity you don’t know Russian.
But otherwise that cannot be omitted in a subject clause, since without the
subordinate maker the clause would be initially misinterpreted as a moin clause.
* You don’t know Russian is a pity.
Subject that-clause are usually extraposed. Extraposition is particularly preferred
when the superodinate clause is interrogative or passive.
Is it possible that they can’t afford to rent that apartment?
It was thought that the cease-fire still held.
If the superordinate clause is exclamatory, extraposition is obligatory:
How strange it is that the children are so quiet!
Object that-clauses are nomarlly extraposed when they cooccur with an object
complement:
Their daughter’s success makes it very likely that she will return to California.

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2.3.2. Wh-Interrogative Clauses
Subordinate wh-interrogative clauses may occur in several position such as subject,
direct object, subject complement, appositive, adjectival complement and prepositional

complement. And as regard to the meaning, these clauses resemble wh-question in that
they leave a gap of unknown information, represent by the wh-elements (Quirk et
al.,1985:1050).
Subject: How the book will sell depends on the reviewers.
Direct Object: I cannot imagine what they want with your address.
Subject Complement: The problem is who will water my plants when I am away.
Appositive: Your original question, why he did not report it to the police earlier,
has not yet been answered.
Adjectival Complement: I am not sure which she prefers.
Prepositional Complement: They did not consult us on whose names should be put
forward.
These subordinate clauses resemble wh-question semantically in that they leave a
gap of unknown information, represented by the wh-element. Contrast the unknown
information expressed in the that-clause with the unknown information in the wh-clause:
I know (that) Caroline will be here.
Do you know who will be here?
I’m sure (that) Ted has paid.
I’m not sure who has paid.
The type of subordinate wh-interrogative clause that most closely resembles whquestions is the indirect wh-question.
She asked me who would look after the baby.
Compare the direct question:
She asked me, ―who will look after the baby?‖
But we can claim a chain of resemblance from the request for an answer to a
question ( as in the indirect question) though uncertainty about the answer (as in I‟m not
sure who will look after the baby), certainty about the answer (It‟s obvious who will look
after the baby), expression of other mental states or process about the answer ( I found out
who will look after the baby, It‟s irrelevant who will look after the baby), and informing
about the answer (I told you who would look after the baby). In all instances a question is
explicity or implicity raised, a question focused on the wh-element.
There are also grammatical similarities to independent wh-question.

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The wh-element is placed first in its clause, as in all the examples in this section. If the whelement is a prepositional phrase, we have the same choices as for the wh-element in whquestion.
I asked them on what they based their prediction. (formal)
I asked them what they based their prediction on.
The wh-elements have the same range of functions as the wh-elements in whquestion.
Although the subordinate clause usually does not have subject operator inversion,
such inversion may occur, particularly when the clause functions as complement and the
superordinate verb is BE or when it functions as appositive:
The problem is who can we get to replace her.
Your original question, why did he not report it to the police earlier, has not yet
been answered.
2.3.3. Yes-No and Alternative Interrogative Clause
Subordinate yes-no interrogative clause and subordinate alternative interrogative
clause occur in the whole range of functions available to subordinate wh-interrogative
clauses, and may include infinitive clauses. The yes-no clause is introduced by the
subordinators whether or if
Do you know whether the banks are open?
I wonder if you can help me.
The alternative clauses are formed with the correlatives whether….or, or if …or.
I can’t find out whether/ if the flight has been delayed or whether/ if it has been
cancelled. [1]
If, as in [1], the second unit is a full clause, the subordinator is repeated. It is not
repeated in [2-4], where the second unit is an abbreviated form:
They didn’t say whether it will rain or be sunny.
[2]
I asked them if they wanted meat or fish.
[3]

I don’t care if they join us or not.
[4]
The abbreviated forms parallel those for independent alternative yes-no question.
Repeation is optional with to-infinitive clauses: (Quirk et al, 1985:1053)
He didn’t tell us whether to wait for him or (whether) to go on without him.
2.3.4. Nominal Relative Clause
Nominal relative clauses resemble wh-interrogative clauses in that they are also
introduced by a wh-element. In need, a major reason for including nominal relative clauses
in chis chapter is that it is often difficult to distinguish them from the interrogative clauses.
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On the other hand, in some respects nominal relative clauses are more like noun phrases,
since they can be concrete as abstract and can refer even to persons. In fact, we can
paraphrase them by noun phrases containing a noun head with general reference that is
modified by a relative clause:
Whomevr did that should admit it frankly.
[The person who did that ….]
I took what they offered me.
[……the things that they offered me.]
Macy’s is where I buy my clothes.
[….the place where I buy my claothes]
Compare also the paraphrase when the wh-element is a determiner:
I took what books she gave me. […..the book that she gave me.]
Futhermore, nominal relative clauses share with noun phrases a wider range of
functions than are available to other nominal clauses. In addition, like noun phrase, they
may display number concord with the verb of the sentence.
Contrast for example:
What ever book you see is yours to take.
Whatever books I have in the house are borrowed from the public library.

The nominal relative clause is basically a noun phrase modified by an adnominal
relative clause, except that its wh-element is merged with its antecedent. In that respect the
nominal relative clause is more selt-contained than the adnominal relative clause and can
fuction as an element in a superordinate clause.
Compare the nominal relative clause in [1] with the noun phrase in [1a]:
I eat what I like.
[1]
I eat that which I like, (formal). [1a]
In [1a], which has approximately the same meaning as [1] , the antecedent of the
nominal relative clause is that
The wh-item may be a pronoun, such as what in [2], a determiner, such as what in
[3], or an adverb, such as where in [4]:
She tasted what I bought.
[2]
She saw what food I bought.
[3]
Here is where I bought I bought the food.
[4]
The wh-element may function within the nominal relative clause as subject, direct
object, subject complement, object complement, adverbial, or prepositional complement.
Suject:
What happened (upset him).
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(They welcome) whatever visitors came their way.
Direct object: What he saw (upset him).
(She took) what she need.
Subject complement: What she became in later life (distressed her friends).
(I am happy with) what I am.

Object complement: (That’s) what she calls her sister.
Adverbial:
Where she went (was Manchester).
(Now is) when I need you.
Prepositional complement: (I’ll show you) what you can open the bottle with.
Nominal relative clauses have the same range of functions as noun phrases. In
addition to the functions available generally to nominal clauses, they can function as
indirect object and object complement.
Subject: What I want is a cup of hot cocoa.
Direct object: You should see whoever deals with complaints.
Indirect object: He gave whoever asked for it a coppy of his latest paper.
Subject complement: April is when the lilacs bloom.
Object complement: You can call me what(ever) you like.
Appositive: I’ll pay you the whole debt; what I orinally borrowed and what I own
you in interest.
Prepositional complement: You should vote for which(ever) candidate you think
best.
2.3.5. To-Infinitive Nominal Clauses
The next type is to-infinitive nominal clauses. The type is indicated by the
appearance of the to-infinitive after the head and it can occur as:
Subject: To be neutral in this conflict is out of the question.
Direct Object: He likes to relax.
Subject Complement: The best excuse is to say that you have an examination
tomorrow morning.
Appositive: Your ambition, to become a farmer, require the enegy and perseverance
that you so obviously have.
Adjectival Comp: I am very eager to meet her.
The presence of a subject in a to-infinitive clause normally requires the presence of
a preceding for. When the subject is a pronoun that distinguishes subjective cases, it is in
the objective case:

For your country to be neutral in this conflict is out of the question.
For us to take part in the discussion would be a conflict of interest.
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I am eager for them to meet her.
When the clause is a direct object, however, for is generally absent before the
subject.
He likes everyone to relax.
2.3.6. Nominal – ing clauses
Nominal-ing clauses ( or more fully, nominal-ing participle clauses) may function
as:
Subject: Watching television keeps them out of mischief.
Direct Object: He enjoys playing practical jokes.
Subject Complement: Her first job had been selling computer.
Appositive: His current research, investigating attitudes to racial stereotypes, takes
up most of his time.
Adjectival Complement: They are busy preparing a barbecue.
Prepositional Complement: I’m responsible for drawing up the budget.
If the-ing clause has a subject, the item realizing the subject may be in the genitive
case or otherwise in the objective case (for pronoun having a distingtive objective case) or
common case (for all other noun phrases). In general, the genitive is preferred if the item is
a pronoun, the noun phrase has personal reference, and the style is formal.
I intend to voice my objections to their receiving an invitation to our meeting. [1]
Contrast the preference for the common case in [2], where the item is a nonpersonal
noun phrase and not a pronoun and the style is not formal.
I didn’t know about the weather being so awful in this area.
[2]
Traditional stipulation of the genitive case is based on the assumption that the-ing
orm in such clauses is a verbal noun. That assumption is incorrect, as we can see from the

direct object (an invitation to our meeting) that follows the-ing form in [1], which
demonstrates that the-ing form has the force of a verb. On the other hand, the use in [1] of
genitive itseft provides the-ing form with a nominal characteristic.
The genitive is avoided when the noun phrase is lengthy and requires a group
genitive.
Do you remember the students and teachers protesting against the new rule?
On the other hand, the genitive case is preferred when the item is initial in the
sentence:
My forgetting her name was embarrassing.
Some are troubled by the choice of case here. In some instances, an acceptable
alternative is a that-clause, which is normally extraposed.
It was embarrassing that I forgot her name.
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Unlike subject that-causes and to-infinitive clauses, subject-ing clauses are not
normally extraposed. The superordinate clause can be interrogative or passive without the
extraposition:
Will our saving money reduce the budget deficit?
Postponing the proposed legislation is being considered by the subcommittee.
A nomina- ing clause may refer to afact or an action:
Fact: Your driving a car to New York in your condition disturbs me greatly. [1]
An action: Your driving a car to New York took longer than I expected.
[2]
When an –ing form occurs alone or preceded just by a genitive noun phrase, the
construction is syntactically ambiguious beween an -ing clause and a noun phrase with a
verbal noun in –ing as its head.
My hobby is swimming.

[3]

I hate lying.
They liked our singing.

[4]
[5]

Our singing in [5] can refer either to the action of singing or to the mode of singing.
Without further expansion by an object or ab adverbial, the genitive biases towards a mode
interpretation. In contrast, The objective in [5a] allows only an action interpretation:
They liked us singing (while they worked).
[5a]
Since the-ing clauses in [1] and [2] do not allow a mode interpretation, it appears
that this interpretation belong to the noun phrase structure rather than to the clause
structure. Simularity, when we expand [5] by adding an object and thereby making the-ing
construction unambiguously a clause, the mode interpretation is no longer available. In
[5b] the-ing clause refers to an action:
They liked our singing folk songs.
[5b]
Conversely, where only the mode interpretation is available, we may assume that
the construction is a noun phrase:
Your driving has improved considerably since I last saw you.
[6]
Contast also [7] and [8], distinguished only by the position of fast:
I warned him against fast driving.
[7]
I warned him against driving fast.
[8]
In [7] fast is an adjective premodifying the noun driving, which is the head of the
noun phrase. In [8] the adverb fast is an adverbial in the –ing clause driving fast. Compare

the analogous contrasting pair in [7a] and [8a]:
I warned him against careless driving.
[7a]
I warned him against driving carelessly.
[8a]

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2.3.7. Nominal bare infinitive clauses
Based on the Quirk et al theory (1985:1067), the nominal bare infinitive clause
(without to) is severely limited in its function. It may be the subject complement or (rarely)
subject in a pseudo-cleft sentence:
Subject complement: What the plan does is ensure a fair pension for all.
Subject: Mow the lawn was what I did this afternoon. (rare and informal)
It may also be the subject or subject complement of a variant of the pseudo-cleft
sentence, where a noun phrase of general reference replaces what:
Turn off the tap was all I did.
The best thing you can do now is write her an apology.
The to of the infinitive is abligatorily absent when the infinitive clause is subject in
these constructions, but it is optionally present when the clause is subject complement:
What they must do is (to) propose an amendment to the resolution.
The thing you should do is (to) show them your diploma.
The bare infinitive requires the substitute verb DO in the other subordinate clause.
Contrast the obligatory to in [1] with the optional to in [2]:
All I wanted was to help him.
[1]
All I wanted to do was (to) help him.
[2]
A bare infinitive clause may function as object complement with a relatively few

superordinate verbs:
They made her pay for the damage.
Finally, the bare infinitive clause may follow prepositions of exception.
She did everything but make her bed.
All the realizations and syntactic functions of nominal clauses are considered as
theoretical frame work of the study in order to investigate these clauses in “Gone with the
wind” novel.
2.4. Summary
In summary, this chapter has provided an overview about clauses of some famous
authors in the world to determine what the key elements of a clause are and how to be
considered a clause. Besides, it is mainly emphasized and presented the types and
functions of English nominal clauses arcording to (Quirk et al, 1985) as the theory
background for the next chaper of the study. Although the previous reseachers mentioned
to English nominal clauses, there have never been any authors taking the investigation on
“English nominal clauses and their Vietnamese translation version in “Gone with the
wind” novel. That is the reason for the writer to choose the tittle for the study.

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