Ellipsis - a conjunction 'that'

Question

I'm not sure whether the term 'ellipsis' is appropriate.

Anyway, the following sentence is confusing to me.

ex) It is lucky we have a mechanical genius like Samuel in our school

I quoted the sentence from an English textbook for middle school student in Korea.

I think it is better to put a conjunction 'that' between 'lucky' and 'we' like the following.

? It is lucky that we have a mechanical genius like Samuel in our school

If the sentence without 'that' is grammatically correct(of course, it is correct because it is in the textbook), why is the conjunction 'that' omitted ?

Thank you for reading my question.

I appreciate your valuable comment.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

HoonyIf the sentence without 'that' is grammatically correct

It is correct.

When "that" (called a "subordinator") is not the subject in the subordinate clause, it can be omitted.

She said (that) he was mean to her.
His quitting means (that) we will need to hire two more people.
I know (that) Mary is getting married.
He is the one person (that) we need the most.

When a "that" (subordinate) clause is used as the subject of the main clause, "that" cannot be omitted.

That she left him wasn't very surprising.

But we usually prefer to write or say this using a "dummy it" construction and omit the subordinator:

"It's not surprising (that) she left him."

But sometimes the sentence is clearer with "that" left in, so you will see both versions.

Ellipsis - a conjunction 'that'

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