Today we’re going to talk about when it’s OK to omit the word that in
a sentence.
The sentences “The turkey sandwich I ate yesterday had too much
mayonnaise” and “The turkey sandwich that I ate yesterday had
too much mayonnaise” mean the same thing. In that sentence, it’s perfectly fine
to leave out the that.
In a similar vein, the sentences “I said I
would eat a sandwich” and “I said that I would eat a sandwich”
are equal. So are you allowed to leave out the that in such
cases? Well, it depends.
"That" Can Help Sentence Flow
I’m all for cutting
unnecessary words, but I often like to keep my that if
it helps the rhythm of the sentence. You’ll have to judge whether using that in
your particular sentence improves or hurts its flow. Sometimes it helps to read your
paragraph aloud to see if you’ve got the right rhythm. The AP
Stylebook, which is typically used by journalists, suggests you use a that when
in doubt. It advises, “Omission can hurt. Inclusion never does.”
Now, there are several cases when a
that might be necessary. If your sentence already has another that or two, you
might not want to complicate it more by adding yet another that (3). One of the
sentences above falls into this category.
I said, “Some people think adding
that improves the flow of the sentence.” I could have also said, “Some people
think that adding that improves the flow of the sentence,” but I thought two
cases of that would be a bit much.
Another time you should consider using a that is when your
sentence could be ambiguous or misunderstood. Steven Pinker, a linguist, warns
about what he calls “garden path sentences” (4). These are sentences that seem
to mean one thing but then turn out to mean something else. Sometimes, keeping
a that can help you avoid such problematic sentences. Pinker explains, “These
are called garden path sentences, because their first words lead the listener
‘up the garden path’ to an incorrect analysis.”
Here's an example of a sentence that
leads the reader down the wrong path when you omit the word that:
Aardvark maintains
Squiggly's yard is too big.
Without a that, the reader is
initially led to believe that Aardvark maintains, as in mows, Squiggly's yard.
If you add in a that, it's clear from the beginning that Aardvark just has an
opinion.
Aardvark maintains that
Squiggly's yard is too big (5).
Pinker goes on to say that garden path
sentences are “one of the hallmarks of bad writing” because readers have to
wend their way back to the beginning of the sentence to figure out its meaning.
It is sometimes tricky to know if your
sentence is ambiguous because you, the writer, know what you mean. I always
find it useful to put aside my work for a while and then read it again with
fresh eyes. You could also consider having a friend or colleague read over your
work.
Keep Parallel Construction
Two more points about that (6). First,
be careful to maintain parallel construction. For example, this sentence is
incorrect: “Natalie realized she had left her keys in the car and that she
didn’t feed her fish.” In this sentence, Natalie is realizing two things, but
the sentence uses only one that. This sentence would be better if you used that
twice: “Natalie realized that she had left her keys in the car and that she
didn’t feed her fish.”
Avoid the Double
"That"
You also need to ensure you don’t
accidentally put in a double that. This sentence is not right: “Natalie knows
that if she doesn’t remember to feed her fish that the poor little guy will
die.” It needs just one that, the first one: “Natalie knows that if she doesn’t
remember to feed her fish, the poor little guy will die.” A comma after “fish”
will help readers understand the sentence.
So, it's up to you to decide when you
need a that to improve the flow of your sentence. Remember that some people
prefer writing that omits unnecessary thats, but it's also more dangerous to
leave them out because doing so can lead to misunderstandings.
