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Today we will talk about those cases when you can remove the conjunction that from a sentence, which means “what” and connects several simple sentences into one complex one . For example, what is the difference between these sentences: 'The book that you gave me yesterday really deserves reading' and 'The book you gave me yesterday really deserves reading?' You will be absolutely right if you say that there is none. That is, we can safely say that that is quite safely omitted in this case. What about 'She claimed she wasn't guilty' and 'She claimed that she wasn't guilty?' In principle, that can be omitted here as well, but not without loss of meaning.
Helps to understand speech better
When you decide to strip a sentence of a word that does not play a role, then think: how will the sentence sound without this word? Maybe clumsily, abruptly, non-melodious? And the second recommendation: put yourself in the place of the listener or reader. Think about whether you will be understood correctly if this very word is not in the sentence.
In general, the policy of literate language users is as follows: economy of language resources. In other words, the fewer unnecessary and insignificant words, the better. This quality distinguishes true professionals. So we advise you to be guided by this principle when deciding whether to insert that into a sentence or not.
Those who still leave it deserve special praise: this union certainly helps to better perceive your written or spoken language. It clearly demonstrates all the semantic connections in the sentence. In addition, a generally NOT omitted word can make a sentence or phrase melodic and rhythmic. Although sometimes omission can achieve an effect no worse.
In the throes of choice, use another indisputable truth:Omission can hurt. Inclusion never does.
Sometimes essential
So, there are several cases where you need to consider whether that is really appropriate.
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Think about it: if the sentence already has one or more thats, is it worth adding another one? Especially if it does not add meaning? For example: 'Some people think adding that improves the flow of the sentence.' Of course, one could say 'Some people think that adding that improves the flow of the sentence.' But two thats separated by just one word is too much.
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If you are afraid that you will be misunderstood, then this is a reason to be wary. There is a category of sentences that sound like one thing, but when analyzed, it turns out that they have a completely different meaning. Let's consider two examples.
'Georgia maintains Clara was at his place.' Without that, this sentence means that Georgia is sure that Clara was at his house. If we insert that, then the degree of confidence will decrease and it will be more appropriate to use not “sure”, but “has an opinion”.
Linguists also call such sentences "garden paths": you think that it means one thing, but you look more closely - and the meaning is completely different. However, such pitfalls are more characteristic of writing than of speaking.
Observe Concurrency
Sometimes repetition is unavoidable. Let's try to drop one conjunction in this sentence: 'She said she was going to leave New York and that she was offered a job in Las Vegas.' It turned out to be nonsense, right? Therefore, we have 2 options: either remove both of them, or leave both of them. There is no third.
Avoid double 'that'
Some Russian speakers make a common mistake. Its essence is as follows. We know that 'if...then' is 'if...then.' Then is often omitted altogether. So, many people put that instead of then. And that is not all. Look at this example.
She says that if she needs help that she will call me. - Not only is the second that completely misused, the first could have been omitted altogether. And as a result: instead of 0 really necessary that we have as many as 2! It certainly won't speed up understanding.
As you understand, the omission or inclusion of that in a sentence is a purely personal matter. It depends on the individual style of speech, and on the literacy of the speaker. But remember that in the pursuit of individuality, you risk losing the correctness and accessibility of your presentation.
