I. Noun-clause

(a) By substituting a noun for the Noun-clause introduced by the Conjunction “that”:

Complex It is to be regretted that he died so young.

Simple His death so early in life is to be regretted.

(b) By substituting a noun for the Noun-clause introduced by a Relative adverb:

Complex Tell me when and where you were born.

Simple Tell me the time and place of your birth.

(c) By substituting a noun for the Noun-clause introduced by a Relative pronoun:

Complex We need not disbelieve what he said.

Simple We need not disbelieve his word.

Ex.10. Convert from Complex Sentence to Simple.

1. What he spoke on that occasion was unworthy a man of his age and experience.

2. That the rose is the sweetest and most beautiful of flowers is admitted by almost every one.

3. They are now ready to confess that the charge against my friend was groundless.

4. Even his friends admitted that what his enemies complained of was just and reasonable.

5. What we have learnt already is a step towards learning what we do not at present know.

6. They admit that Milton was a great poet, but deny that he was a good man.

7. What seemed most strange in the battle of Plassey was that the Nawab’s immense army should have been defeated by so small a force, and that the victory on the English side should have been so decisive.

8. I should like to be informed what character in English history you most admire.

9. I will now be bold enough to confess what my heart desires and how I shall obtain it.

10. From what you have read in this book, you have become acquainted with the state in which the Saxons were living, when the Normans arrived under William the Conqueror.

11. You will easily understand from what you have been told how much this book has displeased me by its bad teaching.