When to use the word "that"?

Question

I am having a difficult time finding what the rule is for the use of the word that. When does one use it and when does one eliminate it? For example, which one of these sentences are correct?

With: My sister told me that she didn't want pancakes for breakfast.
Without: My sister told me she didn't want pancakes for breakfast.

Which one is correct? What is the general rule for determining whether a sentence requires "that"?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Terryxpress · Accepted Answer

Both. Omitting 'that' doesn't change the meaning.

We tend to include 'that' when we want to emphasize a contrast:
A; Your sister wants pancakes for breakfast.
B: What? She just told me that she didn't want pancakes, she wanted toast.

A. John is going to Paris for his holiday.
B: That's funny - he told me that he was going to Hawaii.

Both of the sentences above would still be correct if 'that' was omitted.

BillJ · Answer

AnonymousI am having a difficult time finding what the rule is for the use of the word that. When does one use it and when does one eliminate it? For example, which one of these sentences are correct?With: My sister told me that she didn't want pancakes for breakfast.Without: My sister told me she didn't want pancakes for breakfast.Which one is correct? What is the general rule for determining whether a sentence requires "that"?

With declarative content clauses, sometimes the subordinator that is obligatory, sometimes it's optional, and sometimes it's inadmissible. Here are some examples. The first in each pair is with that, the second without that. (I've starred the ungrammatical clauses):

1. Obligatory: That I need help is clear. (*I need help is clear)
2. Inadmissible: *I left before that he arrived. (I left before he arrived)
3. Optional: I know that it's genuine. (I know it's genuine)

The main place where that is obligatory is where the content clause is subject of the matrix clause, as in 1. It is likewise obligatory if the content clause is preposed so as to precede the subject, as in That I need help I can't deny.

That is also inadmissible in a clause that is complement to a preposition like before, as in 2. Most preps exclude that; there are only a very few (such as notwithstanding, in order, and provided), which allow it.

Elsewhere, that is in general optional, as in 3. and in your example. It is more likely to be omitted in informal 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 This will demonstrate that it is genuine the subordinator would probably not be omitted.

BillJ

Anonymous · Answer

"That" is not necessary in either sentence, The word "that" is overused and rarely necessary except in the definitive sense. "What cat?" "That cat." "What car did you drive today?" "The same car ["that" is implied] I drove yesterday.

I've been a professional, published writer/editor for 40 years.

Anonymous · Answer

I agree. It is often spoken that way but in writing reads clunky and unsophisticated; especially, in technical documents with command sentences.

Reading "Verify the files in the release match the table values" reads much better than "Verify that the files in the release match the table values." The word "that" is superfluous.

Anonymous · Answer

That explanation makes my head spin.

Anonymous · Answer

The word "that" in the example you give seems superfluous to you because you wrote the example and you know what the sentence is intending to convey to the reader. However, many readers encountering your sentence for the first time would slow down to make sure they were understanding the meaning of the sentence. However, when the word "that" is included in the sentence, no reader needs to slow down as the meaning of the sentence is immediately clear to all. Therefore, the word "that" should not be omitted from your example.

Anonymous · Answer

Both work, truthfully. It's queer, because writers almost always take "that" out of sentences where they don't need it; not that it'd by wrong to leave it there. I however leave it, and use it a lot.

When to use the word "that"?

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