is "have no idea" a phrasal verb?

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hooootdog

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dear all,

i have so many questions to ask:cry: english is so difficult and confusing.

my question is "have no idea" a phrasal verb? if so, in this sentence" i have no idea where Tom has gone." can i say "where tom has gone" is the object of "have no idea"? since "have no idea" equals to "don't know".

my friend told me that "where tom has gone" was an appositive clause attached to the noun "idea". i don't know which is correct.:cry:

help please. thank you!
 

TheParser

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dear all,

i have so many questions to ask:cry: english is so difficult and confusing.

my question is "have no idea" a phrasal verb? if so, in this sentence" i have no idea where Tom has gone." can i say "where tom has gone" is the object of "have no idea"? since "have no idea" equals to "don't know".

my friend told me that "where tom has gone" was an appositive clause attached to the noun "idea". i don't know which is correct.:cry:

help please. thank you!


***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) Yes, English is, indeed, "difficult and confusing." Of course,

I guess all languages are difficult and confusing.

(2) I do not believe that "have no idea" qualifies as a

phrasal verb. Here are some "real" phrasal verbs that I found

mentioned in The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar:

The plane took off./ I don't know -- I give up!/ Take off your coat.

(3) Your last question is really interesting. I discovered (for the

first time) that there are many grammatical theories regarding

a sentence such as:

"I have no idea where Tom has gone."

Those ideas are too difficult for me to understand. (Yes, you are right!!!

Some experts feel that "where Tom has gone" is some kind of direct

object in that sentence. That is too difficult for me to understand.

Some scholars see "where Tom has gone" as playing some kind of

adverbial role. Again I do not understand.)

The simplest explanation given by many experts (and the only idea

that I can understand) is that "where Tom has gone" is the object

of some suppressed (deleted/omitted) preposition. For example, one

scholarly book gives this:

I have no idea about why he hasn't shown up.

(These ideas come from a Google book entitled Wh-clause in English:
aspects of theory and description by Mr. Joe Trotta.)

(4) Like you, I am eager to see what the teachers (and knowledgeable

non-teachers) have to say.
 

TheParser

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Just wanted to add that other prepositions are possible. I have found:

(a) I have no idea OF where they are going.

(b) I have no idea AS TO which preposition I should use.
 
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