Page 274 - English - Teaching Academic Esl Writing

260 CHAPTER 10
The Most Frequent Academic Reporting Verbs Followed by That Noun Clauses (in declining order)
say suggest see ensure think mean show know find indicate believe feel
(Adapted from Leech et al., 2001)
As mentioned earlier, another type of construction with that noun clauses is the construction in which the clause follows an adjective. In these con- structions, noun clauses have the function of adjective complement:
It is apparent that the current recycling policy is not working.
The author is correct that the American pubic needs to be educated about waste.
Such constructions are far more common in the conversational register than in any type of written prose, and they are relatively rare in formal aca- demic writing. However, they occasionally appear in evaluative types of texts written by native and non-native students alike possibly because these struc- tures occur in conversations (e.g., I am angry/glad/happy/pleased/sorry/ sureyou had problems or It is nice/great/incredible/shocking/terrible that he was elected).
The number of common adjectives followed by noun clauses is actually relatively small.
The Most Common Academic Adjectives Followed by That Clauses
accepted/acceptable apparent
certain
clear
correct
critical crucial desirable essential important necessary
General Purpose
doubtful evident likely/unlikely
possible/impossible probable
Evaluative Adjectives
vital interesting disappointing notable noteworthy noticeable
right
true
well known
preferable sufficient
understandable unusual
(Adapted from Leech et al., 2001; Swales & Feak, 1994)
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