The role of the word "that"
Every desire that you have suggests that you believe that one thing is better than another. Unhappiness arises from not getting what you want. But you can’t know that anything is better than anything else. So, he thought, to be happy you should free yourself from desires and not care about how things turn out. That is the right way to live.
In the bold text, what is the role of the word "that"?
I understand the bold text like this: But you can’t know (that) if anything is better than anything else.
Is my understanding correct?
Top answer
But you can’t know that anything is better than anything else. "That" is a clause subordinator introducing the underlined declarative content clause. Its function is that of 'marker'.
- But you can’t know that anything is better than anything else.
- "That" is a clause subordinator introducing the underlined declarative content clause.
- Its function is that of 'marker'.
- In this instance "that" is optional.
- You can't have "that" and "if" together, but you could replace "that" with "if" with little change in meaning, though the syntax would be different, of course.
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But you can’t know that anything is better than anything else.
"That" is a clause subordinator introducing the underlined declarative content clause. Its function is that of 'marker'.
In this instance "that" is optional. You can't have "that" and "if" together, but you could replace "that" with "if" with little change in meaning, though the syntax wou
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