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Grammar - Everyday Grammar - The Word 'That' in Everyday American
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| The Word 'That' in Everyday American English |
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 The
Word 'That' in Everyday American English
The lesson includes an audio program explaining this
grammar topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section,
and other important information. |
Audio Program
Listen to the audio program explaining this grammar
topic. Then read the following written information. |
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The Word 'That' in Everyday
American English |
The 1994 crime film "Pulp Fiction" tells the story of a
gunman, played by Samuel L. Jackson.
In the film, the gunman is growing tired of his life of
crime. Near the end of the movie, he gives two other
criminals a chance to leave a bad situation.
-“The truth is, you're the weak and I'm the tyranny of
evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to
be the shepherd. Go."
- "I think we should be leaving now."
- "Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
In this program, we explore the meaning of a word you
heard in the recording: the pronoun “that”. And we will
look at how Americans use this word in everyday speech.
You might be surprised how often Americans use it for
different purposes!
The word "that"
On another Everyday Grammar program, we explored the
many uses of the word "that." That belongs to a group of
words called demonstratives. Sometimes demonstratives
act as pronouns. When acting as pronouns, they suggest
that nouns are either close to the speaker or far away.*
In American English, speakers use the word "that" to
mean people or objects that are at a distance. But they
also use it in other ways.
For example, English speakers often use the word "that"
to give an opinion about something or to repeat the main
points of a conversation.
We will now look at each of these uses in greater
detail.
#1 Evaluating an idea or
situation
Speakers often use the word "that" in sentences that
give an opinion about an idea or situation. They do this
by using the structure, that's + an adjective, or that's
+ a noun phrase.
This audio from the 1996 film "Fargo" gives an example
of the first structure:
- "They announced it."
- "They announced it?"
- "Yah."
- "So?"
- "Three-cent stamp."
- "Your mallard?"
- "Yah."
- "Oh, that's terrific."
The term "that's terrific" is an example of that's + an
adjective. Here, the word "that" means the idea or
situation presented; in other words, the new stamp. The
adjective "terrific" gives the speakers positive or good
opinion about the stamp.
There are any number of adjectives that speakers use to
express their opinion. A few other examples are "that's
cool" or "that's awesome," two common expressions among
younger Americans.
English speakers also use the that's + a noun clause
structure to give an opinion about a situation or idea.
Think back to the lines you heard at the beginning of
this program.
- "I think we should be leaving now."
- "Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
Here, the word "that" means the idea that came in the
earlier sentence "I think we should be leaving now."
The speaker gives his opinion about the idea by using
the noun phrase "a good idea." The word "probably"
changes the force of his statement.
#2 Summarizing the main point of
earlier statements
The second common structure in everyday speech is that's
+ a wh- clause. A wh- clause suggests a group of words
beginning with the letters w and h, such as why or what.
Speakers use this structure when they are noting the
main points of earlier statements in a conversation.
The comedy film "Clerks" has an example of how speakers
use this structure in everyday speech. Here, the actors
are having a debate about the best "Star Wars" movie:
“Empire had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his
hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets
frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a
down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down
endings."
The main speaker makes several statements and then
closes with the words "that's what life is – a series of
down endings." The word "that" means the ideas presented
earlier: namely, a series of bad events. Hopefully, you
do not agree with the speaker's opinions of life!
What can you do?
Instead of giving you a down ending – such as in the
line from the film Clerks – we are going to end on a
positive note.
Learning and understanding the uses of pronouns such as
"that" can be difficult. But, you will be successful if
you take a few simple steps.
The next time you are watching a film or talking with
English speakers, try to listen for examples of the word
"that."
Ask yourself the following questions: Do the speakers
use it to give their opinion? Do they use it to
summarize the conversation?
Then, find a person to practice with. Try to use the
word "that" when speaking to them.
Let us know if you have any questions – we are always
happy to help!
I'm Alice Bryant.
And I'm John Russell.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor.
*The word "that" can also introduce adjective clauses.
These types of clauses are beyond the scope of this
story. |
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Words in This Story |
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demonstrative – n.
a word (such as “this,” “that,” “these,” or “those”)
that tells who or what is being spoken about
-
conversation – n.
a talk involving two people or a small group of
people; a discussion
- phrase
– n. a group of two or
more words that express a single idea but do not
usually form a complete sentence
- clause
– n. grammar a part of
a sentence that has its own subject and verb
- tyranny
– n. an oppressive
power
- pronoun
– n. a word that is
used instead of a noun
- stamp
– n. a small piece of
paper placed on something to show that a payment has
been made
- mallard
– n. a common duck
- comedy
– adj. something that
is meant to make people laugh
- practice
– v. to perform
repeatedly; to train
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Grammar Tips |
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(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
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Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
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Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening,
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A video lesson to
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The English is
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Click here to visit the lesson page. |
Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your understanding of commonly confused
words. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program. |
Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of commonly confused
words.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page. |
Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening)
An audio lesson to
help with your understanding of commonly confused
words. The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this
audio program. |
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