[Grammar] What type of Clause is this?

[mfhaq77]

What type of Clause is this - noun, adjective or adverbial?
I am glad that you have passed the test.

Some people say that it is a Noun Clause. But I don't understand the logic behind that.
What is the syntactic relation between "glad" and "that clause"?

 

[tzfujimino]

What type of Clause is this - noun, adjective or adverbial?
I am glad that you have passed the test.

Some people say that it is a Noun Clause. But I don't understand the logic behind that.
What is the syntactic relation between "glad" and "that clause"?

Hello, mfhaq77.:-D
The 'that you have passed the test' in your sentence is similar to 'because you have passed the test'.
So, my guess would be that it is adverbial.
Please wait for other experts to reply.

 

[mfhaq77]

Hello, mfhaq77.:-D
The 'that you have passed the test' in your sentence is similar to 'because you have passed the test'.
So, my guess would be that it is adverbial.
Please wait for other experts to reply.

But I am not sure whether the that clause is a modifier or complement of "glad".
The issue needs more discussion.

 

[BobK]

Hello, mfhaq77.:-D
The 'that you have passed the test' in your sentence is similar to 'because you have passed the test'.
So, my guess would be that it is adverbial.
....

That's what I'd guess too. But formal syntax isn't my strong point, so I'd welcome conflicting views;-)

b

 

[5jj]

That's what I'd guess too. But formal syntax isn't my strong point, so I'd welcome conflicting views;-)

You won't get them from me. I've survived 44 years in language teaching without being able to label clauses perfectly; most of my students seem to have survived too.

 

[mfhaq77]

You won't get them from me. I've survived 44 years in language teaching without being able to label clauses perfectly; most of my students seem to have survived too.

If you need 44 years, we will require a century to discover clause types.............

 

[bhaisahab]

If you need 44 years, we will require a century to discover clause types.............

The point is this, mfhaq. Do you really need to know?

 

[mfhaq77]

The point is this, mfhaq. Do you really need to know?

Yes, certainly. For this reason, I searched the Net and found the answer to be the Noun Clause. You might be interested to read the following pages on this topic. Noun Clause http://faculty.deanza.edu/flemingjohn/stories/storyReader$23 Thanks to all for your kind attention to my post.

 

[BobK]

Yes, certainly. For this reason, I searched the Net and found the answer to be the Noun Clause. You might be interested to read the following pages on this topic. Noun Clause http://faculty.deanza.edu/flemingjohn/stories/storyReader$23 Thanks to all for your kind attention to my post.

I'm not sure how far I trust a page that misspells 'complement' - as the link to About.com does; but that's usually a reliable site.

Neither that page nor the ....edu one mentions the word 'glad', which is the case in question. I'm still not sure whether the 'that' clause is a modifier or a complement. I am sure, however, that certainty on this point is not a prerequisite for using the language successfully. ;-)

b

 

[TheParser]

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


Hello, Mfhaq:

I have great news for you: You can call it a noun clause or an adverbial clause -- depending on which expert you

choose to believe.

I am honored to present the views of three reputable grammar books. These are not my views. Those books are

"old." They contain information that good high school students were taught, especially in the 20th century. I have

absolutely no idea how university-level linguistics analyzes such a sentence.

1. From Descriptive English Grammar (second edition, 1950) by Professors Homer C. House and Susan Harman. (This is my favorite grammar book for understanding high-school level grammar, especially since it contains Reed-Kellogg diagrams. If you can get a copy, you will not regret it.)

a. "He is certain that he cannot fail.

i. The two scholars say that it is a noun clause.

. (a) Their reasoning: Maybe that sentence was originally something like: "He is certain of this fact (that he cannot fail).

As you can see, "that he cannot fail" is a noun clause in apposition with the noun "fact." (page 380)

(b) Those two scholars are my heroes, so that is the theory that I personally have adopted.

2. One book called A Grammar of Present-Day English (1963) by R.W. Pence and D.W. Emery says this (page 180):

"Inasmuch as anything modifying an adjective is by that fact adverbial in function, it seems simpler to call such

clauses adverbial clauses in the first place." (My emphasis.)

3. Another very helpful book is English Review Grammar (Fourth edition, copyright renewal 1968) by Mr. Walter Kay Smart. On pages 108 -109, he says in "He is sorry that he came," "that he came" is an adverbial clause that completes the meaning of the adjective. He agrees with tzfujimino's excellent explanation. That is, "He is sorry that he came" has a
"meaning somewhat" like that of "He was sorry because he came."

4. It is clear that a fair-minded high school teacher would never ask this question on an examination, for there are at least two "correct" answers.


Sincerely yours,


James