Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009

Deletion of That in Noun Clauses
Unit 32 I think I can find it

What have you learned from your grammar textbook?

A noun clause can be the object of a verb. Noun clauses can begin with the word that, but it has no meaning and can be omitted.

• I think that he is sick today. OR

• I think he is sick today.

What does the corpus show?

A

Frequency information. Omitting that vs. including that in noun clauses that are objects of verbs:

• The great majority of noun clauses in conversation omit that.

• The majority of noun clauses in fiction omit that, but the proportion is not as great as in conversation.

• The majority of noun clauses in newspaper writing include that, but the proportion is not as great as in academic writing.

• The great majority of noun clauses in academic writing include that.

B

Three grammatical characteristics are associated with the omission of that. These characteristics are very common in conversation. They are very rare in academic writing.

The more of these characteristics a sentence has, the more likely it is to omit that. Many noun clauses in conversation exhibit all three of the characteristics:

• I think I can find it.

C

That is usually included when the following three characteristics occur:

Be careful! In newspaper writing and academic writing, even noun clauses that do NOT have these characteristics usually include that.

• In October, a jury had recommended that the judge award the brothers $39 million. (news.)

• Gilligan discovered that girls made more relationship-oriented statements than boys. (acad.)

Activities

1 Notice in context: Read the three paragraphs from different types of writing, underline the noun clauses where that has been deleted. Double underline the noun clauses which retain that

1. Fiction writing: Diane is going to visit her grandmother, whom she has not seen for many years.

Golden clouds of flowers dotted the road. The sky was clear, the sun bright. But Diane couldn’t enjoy the scenery. What would she say to her grandmother? She knew she was being silly; she had been told that the old lady wouldn’t even know her. She might as well be a total stranger stopping by for a visit.

2. Newspaper writing: A Mexican writer discusses his ethnic background.

I was a Mexican in California; I would no more have thought of myself as an Aztec than you might imagine yourself a Viking or a Bantu. Mrs. Ferrucci up the block used to call us “Spanish.” We knew she intended to give us a compliment. We also thought she was ignorant.

3. Fiction writing: The producers of a play want to know why the leading actor has disappeared.

After that, they went to see Mel, the director. He was tight-lipped and displeased and said he knew nothing of Bill’s personal life. He also told them that he was unable to tell them whether or not Bill would be continuing with the show.

2 Analyze discourse: Look back at Activity 1. Work with a partner. Number each noun clause that you underlined or double underlined. For each noun clause, discuss why the choice was made to delete or not delete the word that

3 Practice the structure: Read the conversation. Cross out that introducing a noun clause when it would typically be deleted and underline that when it should remain. Discuss your reasons with a partner. Be careful - the word that also appears in other functions.

Three members of a teachers’ association discuss how to strengthen the organization.

Tony: I think that classroom teachers can benefit from talking to people in higher education who have done research about effective teaching methods.

Gael: Yeah, I really feel that we can benefit each other if researchers and teachers come together to talk. Sometimes that can lead to great problem-solving conversations about classroom issues.

Vlad: Well, I’ll tell you that I’ve been asked to go down to speak to teacher education classes at Cameron University three times.

Tony: But do they know that the teachers’ association exists and that they can come to us?

Gael: Well, we had a conference. Do they come to the conference? No.

Tony: What I’m suggesting is that maybe we can form a committee to promote the conference.

Gael: I think that a committee is good. At the conference we can promote membership.

Vlad: I think that we have a plan.

4 Practice conversation: work with a partner. Complete this conversation about a day when one of you has missed class. Use noun clauses, and omit or include that appropriately. When you are finished, practice the conversation with your partner.

A: Can you tell me what happened in class yesterday? I was absent.

B: Well, Irina said ... so Professor Fan worked on that for a while.

A: Did Fan tell ...?

B: He didn’t mention a test, but he said ... and ... .

A: Oh no. I think ...!

B: ... .

5 Practice writing: imagine that you are submitting an article to a newspaper. Pick a topic that you know something about. Write a paragraph reporting what someone discovered, found, showed, suggested, and/or assumed. Choose that or that deletion.

Example

Pets Help People at Senior Centers

Studies have shown that older people who have lost a loved one live longer if they have a chance to interact with animals on a regular basis. Dr. Leroy Plunger was told by nurses that patients’ blood pressure went down after visits by dogs brought by family members. He said he saw the joy in his elderly patients’ eyes as they petted and played with their beloved animals ...