What best describes the phrase in CAPS?
A pair of muddy shoes in the hallway told me THAT ERIC WAS HOME.
Ans- I think this one's either an adverb clause or a noun clause.
Please help; thanks!
-MC
It's a noun clause that's used as the direct object of the verb "told." Think: told me WHAT? Note, also that the indirect object is "me."
If it were an adverb clause it would answer one of these questions: WHERE? WHEN? WHY? HOW?
Thanks! I understand that now
-MC
To determine the function of the phrase in caps, we can break down the sentence and analyze its structure.
The phrase "THAT ERIC WAS HOME" is acting as a noun clause in this sentence. It functions as the direct object of the verb "told." It provides additional information about what the muddy shoes in the hallway communicated to the speaker.
To identify a noun clause, we look for a subject and a verb within a group of words that functions as a single noun. In this case, the subject is "ERIC" and the verb is "WAS."
Remember, a noun clause can function as a subject, an object, or a complement in a sentence, taking the place of a noun. In this example, it functions as the direct object of the verb "told" and tells what the shoes communicated.