Collins Cobuild English Grammar (145 page)

The following verbs are used with
on
. None of them take an object referring to the hearer.

agree

comment

decide

determine

insist

remark

report

write

He had already decided
on his story
.
They are insisting
on the release of all political prisoners
.

Note that
speak
and
talk
are used with
about
and
of
but not with reported clauses.

Other ways of using reported clauses

nouns used with reported clauses

7.86
    There are many nouns, such as
statement
,
advice
, and
opinion
, that refer to what someone says or thinks. Many of the nouns used in this way are related to reporting verbs. For example,
information
is related to
inform
, and
decision
is related to
decide
. These nouns can be used in reporting structures in a similar way to reporting verbs. They are usually followed by a reported clause beginning with
that
.

He referred to
Copernicus’ statement that the Earth moves around the sun
.
They expressed
the opinion that I must be misinformed
.
There was
little hope that he would survive
.

Here is a list of nouns that have related reporting verbs and that can be used with
that
-clauses:

admission

advice

agreement

announcement

answer

argument

assertion

assumption

belief

claim

conclusion

decision

declaration

dream

expectation

explanation

feeling

guess

hope

information

knowledge

promise

reply

report

response

revelation

rule

rumour

saying

sense

statement

thought

threat

understanding

warning

wish

Some of these nouns can also be followed by a
to
-infinitive clause:

agreement

claim

decision

hope

promise

threat

warning

wish

The decision to go
had not been an easy one to make.
Barnaby’s father had fulfilled
his promise to buy his son a horse
.

Note that some nouns that are not related to reporting verbs can be followed by
that
-clauses, because they refer or relate to facts or beliefs. Here is a list of some of these nouns:

advantage

benefit

confidence

danger

disadvantage

effect

evidence

experience

fact

faith

idea

impression

news

opinion

possibility

principle

risk

sign

story

tradition

view

vision

word

He didn’t want her to get
the idea that he was rich
.
She can’t accept
the fact that he’s gone
.
Eventually a distraught McCoo turned up with
the news that his house had just burned down
.

8        Combining messages

8.1
      Sometimes a statement is too complex or detailed to be expressed in a single clause. You make statements of this kind by putting two or more clauses together in one sentence.

There are two ways in which you can do this. One way is to use one clause as a main clause and to add other
subordinate
clauses. A
subordinate clause
is a clause that depends on the main clause to complete its meaning, and that cannot form a sentence on its own. For this reason, in some grammars, it is called a
dependent clause
.

I came because I want you to help me.
I didn’t like the man who did the gardening for them.
You have no right to keep people off your land unless they are doing damage.
When he had gone, Valentina sighed.

The other way is simply to link clauses together.

I’m an old man and I’m sick.
I like films but I don’t go to the cinema very often.

Questions and orders can also consist of more than one clause.

What will I do if he doesn’t come?
If she is ambitious, don’t try to hold her back.

Clauses
are explained in
Chapters 3
and
5
.

conjunctions

8.2
      When you put two clauses into one sentence, you use a
conjunction
to link them and to show the relationship between them.

When
he stopped, no one said anything.
They were going by car
because
it was more comfortable.
The telephone rang
and
Judy picked it up.
The food looked good,
but
I was too full to eat.

8.3
      There are two types of conjunction. They show the different types of relationship between clauses in a sentence.

subordinating conjunctions

8.4
      When you are adding a clause in order to develop an aspect of what you are saying, you use a
subordinating conjunction
.

The cat jumped onto my father’s lap
while
he was reading his letters.
He had cancer
although
it was detected at an early stage.
When
the jar was full, he turned the water off.

A clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction is called a
subordinate clause
.

When an atom is split
, it releases neutrons.
If he had won
, he would have shared the money.
The house was called Sea View,
although there were no sea anywhere in sight
.

You can also add subordinate clauses to questions and imperative clauses.

How long is it
since you’ve actually taught
?
Make a plan
before you start
.

Sentences containing a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses are often called
complex sentences
.

There are three main kinds of subordinate clause:

Adverbial clauses
: these are dealt with in paragraphs
8.6
to
8.82
.

Relative clauses
: these are dealt with in paragraphs
8.83
to
8.116
.

Nominal
that
-clauses
: those relating to reported speech and thought are referred to as
reported clauses
, and are dealt with in
Chapter 7
; those relating to facts are dealt with in paragraphs
8.117
to
8.128
.

coordinating conjunctions

8.5
      If you are simply linking clauses, you use a
coordinating conjunction
.

Her son lives at home
and
has a steady job.
He’s a shy man,
but
he’s not scared of anything or anyone.

You can also put coordinating conjunctions between questions and between imperative clauses.

Did you buy those curtains
or
do you make your own?
Visit your local dealer
or
phone for a brochure.

Clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction are called
coordinate clauses
.

She turned
and
left the room
.

Sentences that contain coordinate clauses are sometimes called
compound sentences
.

A full explanation of
coordinate clauses
is given in paragraphs
8.149
to
8.163
. Other uses of
coordinating conjunctions
are explained in paragraphs
8.164
to
8.201
.

Adverbial clauses

8.6
      There are eight types of
adverbial clause
: