"that" deletion

“that” deletion
Have you ever heard the advice to delete an unnecessary "that"? It's good advice unless you make it a fetish. If you overdo it, you give readers constant miscues like these:
  • The judge held the pen was not a deadly weapon.
  • Mr. Li acknowledged being a minority made him sensitive to discrimination.
  • The defendant argues eventually the housing supply will increase.
If you don't know where "that" belongs in these sentences, check out Garner's Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage under "Miscues" and "that."

Some general rules
Omit "that" in a relative clause when the subject of the clause is different from the word or phrase the clause refers to:
  • The house that we used to live in
  • The house we used to live in
The subject of the clause "that we used to live in" is "we," which is different from the word the clause refers to: "house."

But keep "that" when a subordinate clause begins with an adverbial phrase. Without "that," the adverb phrase mistakenly appears to modify the verb in the sentence.
  • He argues under no circumstances should the man be kept in jail.
The adverbial phrase "under no circumstances" modifies "argues," but it is intended to modify "be kept in jail." Thus the reader is misled: "he argues under no circumstances . . ." This is better:
  • He argues that under no circumstances should the man be kept in jail.
Delete your unnecessary "thats," but develop an ear for when you're creating a miscue with "that" deletion.

_____________
Wayne Schiess
Director of Legal Writing | The University of Texas School of Law | Website | Seminars | Articles | Books: Preparing Legal Documents Nonlawyers Can Read and Understand | Better Legal Writing | Writing for the Legal Audience | The Legal Memo: A Basic Guide
 

Posted by Wayne Schiess at 3/2/2009 1:52 PM
Categories: Grammar and Punctuation,Usage
 

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