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A Blinkin' Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

first post, about "that"

my friend studying english told me that we can use the word "that" to change a phrase into a subject. but I'm not sure about this...

for example,

That believing in God should seek to be a good person.

is this right?

how about this- Believing in God should seek to be a good person.

or this- To believe in God, one should seek to be a good person.
or this- A believer in God should seek to be a good person.
  

Top answer

Welcome to English Forums! You need more than a phrase. You need a clause - something with a finite verb.

  • Welcome to English Forums!
  • You need more than a phrase.
  • You need a clause - something with a finite verb.
  • Just an "ing" form or an infinitive isn't enough.
  • Here's a full sentence: Peter believes in ***.
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1 Answers
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Welcome to English Forums!

You need more than a phrase. You need a clause - something with a finite verb. Just an "ing" form or an infinitive isn't enough.

Here's a full sentence: Peter believes in ***.

Now you can take that sentence and put "that" in front of it to form the subject of another, bigger sentence. The subject of each of the following sentences

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