Dropping "that"

Question

Would it be correct to drop the conjunction "that" in the following sentence?

"The message of this story is that you can't escape death."

or

"The message of this story is you can't escape death." ?

Thanks.

Manifon · Accepted Answer

dropping "that" would not be correct

CalifJim · Answer

acostaWould it be correct to drop the conjunction "that" in the following sentence?
"The message of this story is that you can't escape death."

In general, no, but it might be dropped in a very casual conversation. I don't recommend it.

CJ

Acosta · Answer

Thanks, CJ.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi,

"The message of this story is that you can't escape death."

Is it possible that the conjunction that is dropped after all?

What about this: the that is a complement of the subject "The message of this story" and the conjunction that is optional then: "The message of this story is that (that) you can't escape death."

Thank you.

BillJ · Answer

acostaWould it be correct to drop the conjunction "that" in the following sentence?
"The message of this story is that you can't escape death."
or
"The message of this story is you can't escape death." ?

The main place where "that" is obligatory is where the content clause it introduces is subject of the sentence as in "That I need help is clear".

Sometimes "that" is inadmissible as in *"I left before that he arrived" where "that" is a complement to a preposition.

Elsewhere, "that" is in general optional. It is more likely to be omitted in informal style than in formal style, and it is more likely to be omitted after short and common verbs than after longer and less frequent ones. For example, in "He knows (that) she is right", "that" will usually be omitted, but in something like "This will demonstrate that it is genuine", the subordinator would probably not be omitted.

In your example I'd say it was optional, but my preference would be to include it.

BillJ

Dropping "that"

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