Help with noun clauses

Question

These sentences contain "who" noun clauses as well as "be" verbs:

I don't know who she is.
I don't know who is at the door.
I don't know who is coming to the party.

Why is the "be" verb located at the end of the sentence in the first sentence, but in the middle of the sentence in the next two sentences? Are there exceptions when the underlying question contains a prepositional phrase or a progressive verb?

Is there a good text or website that contains more of the nitty-gritty on forms like this?

Many thanks.

BillJ · Accepted Answer

AnonymousThese sentences contain "who" noun clauses as well as "be" verbs: I don't know who she is. I don't know who is at the door. I don't know who is coming to the party. Why is the "be" verb located at the end of the sentence in the first sentence, but in the middle of the sentence in the next two sentences? Are there exceptions when the underlying question contains a prepositional phrase or a progressive verb?

It happens because with interrogative clauses, non-subjects are usually fronted, i.e. they appear before the subject, rather than later, where non-subjects would go in basic clauses. Consequently, the verb must appear elsewhere in the clause, typically immediately after the subject. It has nothing to do with PPs or the progressive aspect.

AnonymousI don't know who she is? Why is the "be" verb located at the end of the sentence?

"Who" is non-subject ("she" is subject) so it's fronted; the verb appears immediately after the subject "she", which in this case is at the end of the clause.

AnonymousI don't know who is at the door.

This time, "who" is subject, it appears in its normal place at the front of the clause with the verb immediately following it.

AnonymousI don't know who is coming to the party.

Same again: "who" is subject, so it's placed at the front of the clause, with the verb immediately following it.

To learn more about this topic, and a modern approach to grammar in general, I really would suggest that you buy or borrow a really good up-to-date grammar book.

BillJ

Everlastinghope · Answer

For your first sentence I don't know who she is. ,teachers explained that rule : wh questions + be + subject ?= who is she ?.However-they said-if we add a clause before wh questions,be must be after the subject NOT before.

The two other sentences: I don't know who is at the door.
I don't know who is coming to the party.
As Bill explained,because there isn't a subject ,"who" plays the role of this latter",and be must be after it .

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