Outline what

Question

Start with a capturing and interesting hook. Outline what your topic is. Point to the main argument of your topic known as a thesis statement.

Please explain the use and meaning of "what" here?

Is "what your topic is" a noun clause function as a verb complement to the word "outline"?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

JigneshbharatiIs "what your topic is" a noun clause function as a verb complement to the word "outline"?

I suppose you mean 'a complement to the verb "outline" '. Yes, or what I'd call a direct object.

BillJ · Answer

Outline what your topic is.

I see it differently to MM, and prefer to analyse it as a subordinate interrogative clause (embedded question) functioning as complement of “outline”.

The meaning can be glossed as “Outline the answer to the question ‘What is your topic?’”

Internally, the interrogative clause has the question word "what" as predicative complement of "is".

The main clause equivalent would be "What is your topic?", where again "what" is a question word.

Incidentally, I would avoid the term ‘noun clause’. Clauses aren’t nouns, but constructions containing a subject-predicate structure. By contrast, noun is a word category (part of speech), like “house”, “dog”, “Kim” and so on.

Outline what

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬