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The Mystery of the Disappearing
"That" |
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
Today, we are going to explore a mysterious word in
English that seems to appear and disappear at will!
If you are wondering what we mean, consider these
examples. One is from a classic American film
Casablanca. The second is from the popular music group
Plan B.
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" --
Casablanca
"Now we don't talk and it's a shame,
I guess I only have myself to blame,
Cos girl you meant so much to me"
-- Plan B
Both of these clips have something in common: they leave
out the word "that."
Why did Humphrey Bogart, the main actor in Casablanca,
not say, "I think that this is the beginning of a
beautiful friendship"?
Why did Plan B not sing, "I guess that I only have
myself to blame"?
In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore why and
when English speakers leave out the word that from a
sentence.
That in a noun clause
The word that can have several meanings in the English
language.
Sometimes, it can be used to indicate an object or a
person, as in the sentence "That man is very nice!"
Other times, the word that is used to introduce a second
clause to a sentence. You might hear someone say, "I
think that English grammar is difficult!"*
It is this use of that that often confuses English
language learners.
Today, we are studying the word that in a noun clause. A
clause is a group of words that has a subject and a
predicate. In other words, it could stand on its own as
a sentence. When a group of words could be a complete
sentence, we call it an independent clause.
"I love English grammar" or "I hate English grammar" are
two examples of independent clauses that function as
complete sentences.
However, sometimes a clause depends on other clauses in
a sentence. It cannot stand on its own as a sentence.
When this is the case, we say that the clause is
dependent.
One type of dependent clause is the that-clause. It acts
as a noun in the sentence. It often follows common verbs
like think, say, or guess, and all of the verbs that are
synonyms of these verbs, like believe, admit, remind,
and so on.
Here is an example:
I think that learning English is fun.
In the sentence, the main clause is "I think" and the
that-clause gives more information about the main
clause.
It is in these types of clauses – clauses that give more
information about the main clause - that English
speakers often leave out the word that.
One reason that they drop the word that from these
sentences is because the word that adds little
information.**
So, in a conversation, you are more likely to hear "I
think learning English is fun" than "I think that
learning English is fun."
What can you do?
There is not really a rule about when to leave out the
word that from a that-clause. It is a stylistic choice.
Conrad and Biber are two English grammar experts. They
say there are three general characteristics that usually
go along with leaving out the word that from a sentence.
Characteristic #1 The verb in the
main clause is "say" or "think"
The first characteristic is that the main clause has the
verb say or think. So, when a speaker begins a sentence
with ‘I think’ or ‘he thought’ or some other use of
'say,' you are less likely to hear the word that.
This explanation tells you why Humphrey Bogart, in the
famous film Casablanca, said, "I think this is the
beginning of a beautiful friendship" instead of "I think
that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Characteristic #2 Subject of
that-clause is the same as the main clause
The second characteristic of sentences that leave out
that is: the subject of the that-clause is the same as
the main clause.
This explanation tells you why Plan B sang "I guess I
only have myself to blame" instead of "I guess that I
only have myself to blame." The subject of the main
clause, I, is the same as the subject of the
that-clause, I.
Characteristic #3 Subject of
that-clause is a personal pronoun
The third characteristic of sentences that leave out
that is as follows: the subject of the that-clause is a
personal pronoun.
You might hear a teacher say, "I knew he didn't do his
homework,"
for example. The subject of the main clause is I, and
the subject of the that-clause is the personal pronoun,
he.
You Are More Likely to See "That"
in Writing
All of these characteristics are less common in writing.
You are more likely to find a complete that-clause in
fiction and newspapers, and most likely to find it in
academic writing. You are least likely to hear it in
conversation.
These characteristics of language can be difficult to
learn. However, with time and practice, you will begin
to recognize how native speakers leave out parts of the
language.
Understanding that words – such as that – are sometimes
left out of a sentence will also help you read and
understand English better.
I'm John Russell.
And I'm Jill Robbins.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty
Weaver was the editor.
*We are not discussing relative clauses with "that" in
this story.
** In these types of sentences, "that" is acting as an
expletive. |
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