That
That is a function word used in the English language for several grammatical purposes.[1]
Look up that or those in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
These include:
- as a complementizer/subordinating conjunction. ("He asked that she go.")
- to introduce a restrictive relative clause ("The test that she took was hard.") In this role, that may be analyzed either as a relative pronoun or as a conjunction as in the first case; see English relative clauses: That as relativizer instead of relative pronoun.
- as a demonstrative pronoun ("That was hard.") (plural: those)
- as a demonstrative adjective ("That test was hard.") (plural: those)
- as an adverb ("The test wasn't that bad.")
In the first two uses the word is usually pronounced weakly, as /ðət/, whereas in the other uses it is pronounced /ðæt/.
In the Old English language that was spelled þæt. It was also abbreviated as a letter Thorn, þ, with the ascender crossed, ꝥ (
That is often omitted when used to introduce a subordinate clause—"He told me that it is a good read." could just as easily be "He told me it is a good read."
Usage note
The word that is used in subordinate conjunctions describing a person or people. In demonstrative, that is singular and those is plural, e.g. "that is the bat" (singular) and "those are the bats" (plural).
References
- "that (Definition of that in English)". Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
See also
- Dependent statement
- That's (disambiguation)
- This (disambiguation)
- Those (disambiguation)