Identify the noun clause in the following sentence:
The big worry before the farewell party was whether the caterer would arrive on time.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → whether the caterer would arrive on time
Noun clause after “was”:
- A noun clause does the work of a noun. It can come after is / was and tell what the subject is.
- Here the clause tells what the big worry was. It runs from “whether” to “time”.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: was whether the caterer would arrive on time — Incorrect. This takes in “was”, the verb of the main clause. The noun clause starts only at “whether”.
Option 3: the caterer would arrive on time — Incorrect. This is only part of the clause. It leaves out the joining word “whether”.
Option 4: The big worry before the farewell party was — Incorrect. This is the subject and verb of the main clause. It is not the noun clause.