That’s unnecessary
More often than not, it’s unnecessary to use ‘that’ when writing. But there are also a few cases where it can’t be excluded.
TL;DR
When you’re writing for newspapers and magazines, words are precious. Words mean space, and space is a finite resource when you’re in print. (You shouldn’t be using unnecessary words on digital platforms either, but there are different reasons for that.) One of the first things a copy editor will do when reading a piece is to chop ‘that’ everywhere possible.
Besides saving space, leaving out an unnecessary ‘that’ can improve the flow of sentences and give them a rhythm. As lovely as a rhythmic sentence can be to read, a great tempo is pointless if the sentence doesn’t make sense. Which one of the problems with leaving out ‘that’: it can create ambiguity.
Here’s an example:
The teachers have identified the curriculum needs more independent work time.
When you first read this sentence, you’ll think ‘Ah, teachers have identified the curriculum’. But then you’ll realise there’s additional information and the beginning of the sentence mislead you.
This is known as a garden path sentence. It appears to mean one thing at first but then turns out to mean another. What happens with these sentences in the reader is forced to re-read them to make sense of what’s being said – something writers and editors want to avoid at all costs.
Aside from cases where leaving a ‘that’ out would introduce ambiguity, it’s generally a matter of personal preference. There are a few rules that can help you to figure out when it should be left in – or out.
Same, same, not different
The rule of parallel construction applies here. In other words, you need to stick with one grammatical form per sentence. In the case of ‘that’, if you’re going to use it in one case, you must use it in every case. For example:
Nicole realised she left her book at home and that she’d forgotten her lunch.
Nicole either needs to realise she’d forgotten her lunch or that she left her book at home. Failing to use parallel construction can confuse the reader and force them to go back to the beginning of the sentence to figure out its meaning.
Double trouble
A sentence should never contain a double ’that’. Even though it might make sense.
It depends what you’re doing
There are some verbs that usually need a little ‘that’ to make sense. You can usually figure this out by reading aloud.
A few of the common ones:
| advocate | agree | assert | assume |
| conceive | contend | declare | estimate |
| hold | learn | maintain | make clear |
| point out | propose | state | suggest |
It’s all relative
If your ‘that’ is acting as a relative pronoun (it’s the direct object of the verb in a relative clause), it can be excluded. For example:
It’s the baboon that we saw steal
the watermelon.
But if it’s the subject of the verb in a relative clause, ‘that’ shouldn’t be dropped.
It’s the same baboon that stole the watermelon.
Sub-standard
Drop ‘that’ wherever it functions as a subordinating conjunction. This is where the dependent clause (which provides non-essential information) is the direct object of the verb in the main clause (the bit with all the important stuff) and is directly after another verb. In other words:
Many people started saying that they
felt sick.
Many people were saying (verb) something (main clause). That something was that they felt sick (dependent clause). So they don’t need to be ‘saying that’.
Stage a demonstration
When ‘that’ is used as a demonstrative adjective or pronoun, it cannot be left out. These parts of speech modify the noun so that we know exactly what is being spoken about. For example:
I want that dress.
She took that hair tie from my desk.
TL;DR
- ‘That’ can be left out in many cases. But beware of creating ambiguity or “garden path” sentences.
- There are a few solid rules for when it should be included or excluded:
- There must be parallel construction in a sentence.
- Don’t use a double ‘that’.
- There are a few verbs that need a ‘that’. You can read aloud to figure this out.
- If it’s used as a relative pronoun, you can drop it.
- Don’t use ‘that’ where it functions as a subordinating conjunction.
- You have to include it when it’s used as a demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
