153. Conjunction Uses of “that”

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“That” is actually five different words spelt the same, of which one is a multi-use conjunction

THE VARIETY OF USES OF “that”

The word that is very much “multi-use” – variable in its grammar as well as its meaning (see 3. Multi-Use Words) and can easily cause confusions as a result (see 68. How Computers Get Grammar Wrong 1). Its main uses may be illustrated as follows:

(a) Caesar took control of Rome. That led to his assassination.

(b) Caesar marched on Rome. That step changed history.

(c) Any changes that appear should be noted.

(d) Learning languages is not that difficult.

(e) Doctors BELIEVE that exercise IS vital.

In (a), that is an ordinary pronoun like it or themselves: it represents either a nearby noun or one understandable from the context of the sentence (see 28. Pronoun Errors). In some sentences it means “the one” (see 63. Constraints on Using “the one[s]”). It can be put into the plural form those. Grammar books call it a “demonstrative” pronoun, reflecting its attention-drawing meaning.

In (b), that is like an adjective: adding to the meaning of a directly-following noun (step). It again has the plural form those. Grammarians give it the technical name “determiner” (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”), further sub-classifying it as “demonstrative”. In this blog it is considered, along with use (a) above, in 234. Adjective and Pronoun Uses of “that”.

In (c), that is again a pronoun, but this time “relative”, in other words replaceable by which. It is pronounced differently from the other two uses: with the soft vowel /Ə/ instead of the normal “a” one /æ/. More can be read about it within this blog in 34. Relative Pronouns and Commas and 200. Special Uses of Relative Pronouns.

In (d), that is an informal adverb meaning “as much as that”. In Standard English, it usually needs to follow not, hardly, rarely or scarcely.

In (e), finally, that (again with /Ə/) is a conjunction. It resembles the relative pronoun use in its need for a following verb (is above) – a feature that can lead to double meanings (see 182. Structures with a Double Meaning 2, #2). It is distinguishable by its inability to be replaced by which. This is the use I wish to examine more closely here, since it takes a number of different forms and raises some interesting questions.

A useful term for discussing the conjunction uses of that is “that clause”. This means that plus its following verb plus all of the other words associated with that verb, such as its subject and adverbials. The underlined words in (e) are a that clause.

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“that” CLAUSES THAT ACT LIKE NOUNS

Noun-like that clauses occupy the main noun positions in sentences (object, subject, complement, partner of a preposition). Sentence (e) above is of this kind. The conjunction nature of that is what overcomes the normal impossibility of a verb with a subject, like is in (e), to be in these positions (see 70. Gerunds).

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1. Object “that” Clauses

The that clause in (e) is of this more specific kind, being the object of the verb believe. A characteristic of most object that clauses is that that can be left unsaid but still “understood”. When present, it normally has no comma before or after it (see 50. Right and Wrong Comma Places).

Not all object clauses can have that. Those that are indirect questions start with a question word like where, how or what (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing). Others just make the object verb either an infinitive (with to) or a gerund (with -ing – see 70. Gerunds). To illustrate this variation, consider the following:

(f) A spell check will ensure (that) most errors ARE FOUND.

That is needed here because ensure requires it before any object containing a verb (see 296. Tricky Word Contrasts 12, #1). However, if help replaced ensure, the object would be …most errors to be found (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #7), while facilitate would require …most errors being found (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1, #5).

The problem that all this creates for learners of English, of course, is to know which verbs need which following pattern. The main clue – a rather unreliable one – is perhaps the kind of meaning expressed by the verb. A major kind expressed by that verbs is the idea of speech or thought without asking or commanding, as in SAY or BELIEVE. However, some verbs of this type require a different kind of object or even no object at all (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs). Thus, caution is always necessary.

Other types of verb meaning that allow an object that clause include causation (sometimes) with verbs like ENSURE, ENTAIL and MEAN (see 65. Verbs that Mean “Must” or “Can”), and arrangement with ARRANGE, FIX and SEE TO. However, after these latter that cannot be left invisible and must follow it (arrange it that…: see 190. Special Uses of “it“, #4). The same is true of like/dislike verbs (APPRECIATE, ENJOY, [DIS]LIKE, LOVE, ABHOR, DETEST, HATE, LOATH). These can additionally replace it that with it if, it when or the fact that.

Some verbs – notably CONTRADICT, HIGHLIGHT and INCLUDE – only allow a following subject + verb with the fact that.

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2. Subject “that” Clauses

That clauses occasionally occupy the subject position:

(g) That air pollution kills is obvious.

However, such uses sound very formal. It is commoner to begin the fact that, or to start with it:

(h) It is obvious that air pollution kills.

This kind of that clause is a subject located after its verb (is) and anticipated by a “dummy” pronoun it (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “It”). Sometimes, instead of it, such sentences have to start with there (+ is + NOUN) (see 161. Special Uses of “There” Sentences, #4).

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3. Complement “that” Clauses

Complements work with special verbs to communicate a name, role, identity or description of a preceding noun (see 220. Features of Complements). That complements typically follow BE or similar to say something about a speech or thought noun before it:

(i) THE BELIEF is that success will come.

The purpose of this use is to say in more detail what the earlier noun (belief above) is referring to (see 117. Restating Generalizations More Precisely). An idiomatic alternative to BE after speech nouns is GO (see 176. Ways of Using GO, #1).

Other nouns like belief include argument, assumption, attitude, claim, concern, conclusion, expectation, feeling, hope, hypothesis, idea, implication, impression, indication, meaning, message, news, notion, plan, point, report, suggestion, theory, thinking, view and word. For more, see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns, #1.

Some nouns that do not represent speech or thought can also have a that complement:

(j) The EVIDENCE is that nobody takes responsibility.

Similar nouns include (dis)advantage (+ synonyms – see 277. Advantages & Disadvantages, #4), arrangement, characteristic, clue, consequence (+ synonyms – see 32. Expressing Consequences), curiosity, custom, danger, difference, evidence, future, likelihood, outlook, possibility, principle, probability, proof, prospect, reason, risk and situation.

Many other subject nouns can have a complement containing a verb, but only with a joining device other than that – either the to form of the verb (see 119. BE before a “to” Verb) or -ing.

A feature of many non-reporting sentences like (j) is that, unlike (i), they allow the fact that as well as that. I feel the meanings differ slightly: the fact that implies the reader’s previous knowledge of the fact (making the sentence only about its equivalence to the subject noun), while that has no such implication. For more about how information familiarity affects language choices, see 156. Mentioning What the Reader Knows Already.

Some of the other nouns like problem allow the same choice. They are underlined above. Exceptions include nouns referring to the future, probably because the future is not a fact.

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4. “that” Clauses after Prepositions

A that clause can also follow certain prepositions, normally alongside the fact:

(k) Smoking is made attractive BY the fact that it looks “cool”.

(l) The spread of cold viruses DEPENDS ON the fact that people breathe them out.

An exception to this need for the fact is after in clarifying a similarity or difference (are similar in that …: see 82. Common Errors in Making Comparisons, #7). After except one can say either …that or …for the fact that (see 215. Naming Exceptions).

Verbs after a preposition can also be in the -ing (gerund) form, but the meaning can differ. In (l), for example, the fact that indicates that viruses are inevitably breathed out (it is a fact), whereas -ing suggests that it may sometimes not happen.

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“that” CLAUSES THAT ACT LIKE ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES

That is often part of a longer phrase introducing an adverb clause:

(m) IN THE EVENT THAT the rains fail, stored water maintains irrigation.

This clause is adverb-like because it is not the subject, object or complement of the main verb maintains (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #8). Phrases ending in that are quite numerous, other examples being assuming that, except that, given that, in order that, in that, so that and provided that (see 230. Multi-Word Conjunctions, #1).

A second adverb-like use of that clauses follows adjectives, e.g. happy that wages rose. Not all adjectives allow that, and even those that do sometimes have a to verb, preposition or -ing instead (see 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it).

That-allowing adjectives may express an emotion (e.g. angry, convinced, delighted, determined, disappointed, happy, hopeful, jealous, keen, sad), a mind state (e.g. aware, certain [= convinced], clear, convinced, doubtful, sceptical, sure), or a way of speaking (e.g. convincing, correct, definite, emphatic, insistent, right). That clauses after these, especially the latter two kinds, often function as indirect speech (see 300. Adjective Indicators of Indirect Speech). If they name a desired future, their verb can have the “subjunctive” form (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #7). 

Other adjectives, e.g. certain (= unarguable), curious, definite (= proven), interesting, strange, sometimes go between it is… and a that clause. However, these clauses are noun-like rather than adverb-like, repeating it rather than expanding the adjective (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “It”). Certain and definite are unusual in allowing both that uses, albeit with different meanings (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2).

The final use of that clauses is adjective-like, describing a noun just before:

(n) DENIAL that God exists is a belief like its opposite.

Technically, such clauses are still noun ones (forming an “apposition” structure with the noun before: see 253. Descriptive Wording after Nouns 2, #3), but their similarity to adjectives is clear. They tend to accompany the same nouns that complement that clauses follow, as in (i) and (j) above. One other is no doubt after there is (see 157. Tricky Word Contrasts 5, #1).

That clauses after a noun can often become a verbless preposition phrase, e.g. the denial of God‘s existence. After nouns like advice, desire and wish, they can become a to verb (see 239. Noun Phrases Made with a “to” Verb).