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English 1b3 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

That is--relative clause and 'both'

The horror movie was an experience that was both enjoyable and terrifying.

The horror movie was an experience both enjoyable and terrifying.

Why can we omit 'that was' here, while in many other relative clauses like this we cannot?

Is it because of the word both?

Thanks
  

Top answer

The horror movie was an experience that was both enjoyable and terrifying. This is clear, yet somewhat cumbersome. The horror movie was an experience both enjoyable and terrifying.

  • The horror movie was an experience that was both enjoyable and terrifying.
  • This is clear, yet somewhat cumbersome.
  • The horror movie was an experience both enjoyable and terrifying.
  • While you can remove "that was" and have the sentence retain it’s meaning, the result seems more formal, even literary.
  • I would write: The horror movie was an enjoyable and terrifying experience .
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1 Answers
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The horror movie was an experience that was both enjoyable and terrifying. This is clear, yet somewhat cumbersome.

The horror movie was an experience both enjoyable and terrifying. While you can remove "that was" and have the sentence retain it’s meaning, the result seems more formal, even literary.

I would w

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