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That, Omission of
What's Wrong With That?
By Evan Jenkins
Jane Greer of Bismarck, N.D., an e-mail friend of Language Corner (see A Reader's Potpourri) was struck by seemingly odd omissions of the word "that."
"People insist," she said, "that in college writing classes, adult-ed classes, and professional training classes, instructors are telling them to excise the poor little bugger."
An aversion to "that" does seem conspicuous of late in the public prints, presumably because of a knee-jerk obsession with saving words. Consider this, about a company named Aristotle:
"...it is not surprising Aristotle, which was started in 1983..."
What is not surprising Aristotle? Oops! They didn't mean it that way; they meant it was not surprising that Aristotle did such and such.
A novelist committed the same misdemeanor when he had a character say he was "just pointing out the killer probably doesn't care..." It's hard not to misread, momentarily, "just pointing out the killer," and the true meaning emerges only after that hiccup. It's much clearer to say "just pointing out that the killer..."
Usually, "that" isn't necessary with "say" in any of its forms. The word is wanted, though, with many other words of saying — report, announce, insist, suggest, show, declare and others — and in constructions like the Aristotle passage above. It adds idiomatic roundness and more importantly, as we've seen, can avoid momentary but irritating confusion. Delete "that" in Ms. Greer's sentence beginning "People insist," and the reader is misled into thinking that people insist (something) in college writing classes. That's not what what Ms. Greer meant and not what the sentence says as she wrote it.
Is there a campaign to get rid of "that," no matter the cost in euphony and clarity? Maybe so, and maybe if we're alert we can stop it.
—CJR, Nov./Dec. 2000
Addendum, 11/14/00
They keep coming.
"The Gore campaign believed the recount, which is continuing in two counties and pending in one..."
But as the sentence unwinds, it turns out the Gore camp believed that the recount "could produce enough votes to erase Mr. Bush's small lead." (Note that if the passage said "thought" instead of "believed," no problem would arise whether or not "that" was used.)
"Boras explained his requests..."
Actually, he explained that "his requests were not contract demands..."
It's an awfully small word. Go ahead and use the space.
CJR
