语法 | 什么时候你不需要that THAT
在上一篇“数字游戏”中, 有读者对其中的一句话提出了疑问
Enforcing the rule of law sounds on the face of it revolutionary, since it implies that the party itself is subject to external authority. It is not clear that is Mr Xi’s intention, however.
[问题]：
红色的部分[It is not clear that is], 他的疑问是 “这个句子是否缺少主语？” “主语从句中that是不可以省略的”
我对这个问题的回答:
1. 很多语法书中出现的 “一定” “必须” 大多是站不住脚的 — 有了规矩，英文考试题才能讲的通啊。随着语言的变化,语法本身就存在很大的争议, 专家们也各执己见。所以别把从哪个不靠谱英文老师学来的 “八股语法”来据理力争; 也别把从百度搜来的哪个答案当作 “网上很多人都这样说咯，所以就是这样子啊”。多查一查资料，语料库之类的，对我们的学习会更有帮助。看看国人写的语法，也看看母语者是怎么说的 —总之就是：真理无穷,慢慢探索！ 当然，前提是如果你有兴趣的话；否则, don't bother.
2. 我手头的一本 Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English 中提到(文章底部详细), “that之后的句子做补语的话，在一些情况下可以被省略. 也找到资料说: that-omission is significantly more frequent if the complement/relative clause begins with a pronoun/determiner that.
例句: Probably this is the only way [(that) that will work out].
顺着这个话题和你分享一下 「that」 的省略问题, 我找了一下资料, 稍微整理下，分享给你。
Several listeners have asked when they should omit the subordinating conjunction "that" in their writing. For example, should they write “Squiggly said that it was Aardvark’s birthday,” or just “Squiggly said it was Aardvark’s birthday”? For this sentence, both ways are perfectly grammatical, but if you’re following a principle of omitting needless words, you’ll want to leave out the "that."
Watch out, though. Although "that" is optional in this example, you can’t assume it’s optional wherever you see it. Sometimes it’s mandatory. And even when it’s optional, it’s sometimes still a good idea to keep it.
That 和 动词
Leaving "that" out sounds best with the most common verbs of speech or thought, such as "say," "think," "know," "claim," "hear," or "believe." It saves a word, and it’s how people talk, too. Linguists call these verbs “bridge verbs.”
[“that” can be left out after common reporting verbs like said,thought and suggested.]
I think I’ll make a shopping list today
You said you didn’t
Non-bridge verbs tend to be verbs that carry extra meaning beyond simply the idea of saying or thinking something, and they don’t sound as good when you omit the word "that." For example, "whisper" is a non-bridge verb and doesn’t mean just to say something; it means to say it in a particular way. It sounds odd to say, “He whispered he wanted another root beer” instead of “He whispered that he wanted another root beer.” Not crashingly bad, but just a little off.
举个例子:
The department confirmed there were some victims.
Mexican officials acknowledge they are hampered by a lack of information.
To my ear, both of these sentences are a bit off, and would have sounded better with "that" after the verbs "confirm" and “acknowledge."
Sometimes, omitting a "that" after a non-bridge verb goes beyond being slightly awkward and can actually be confusing. Here’s an example:
Son acknowledges being a member of a minority ... may have helped him turn his eyes abroad early.
The trouble here is that "acknowledge" can be a transitive verb. So when a noun phrase comes after it, such as being a member of a minority, the reader might just take it as a direct object: “Son acknowledges being a member of a minority.” But whoops! The sentence keeps going, and the reader has to go back and re-read it.
That 和 名词
What about "that" after a noun? As with verbs, there are a few nouns that let you get away with omitting a "that." Other nouns sound odd if you do it, and some nouns are downright confusing if you try deleting a "that" after them.
Some nouns that tolerate "that" omission pretty well include "possibility" and “feeling：
There’s a possibility he might say yes.
I get the feeling you don’t like me.”
Nouns that sound awkward if you delete a "that" include "fact." A phrase like "the fact Squiggly likes chocolate" is clear enough, but it’s really awkward-sounding.
感受一下下面两个句子：
The rumor that Eric heard is true .
The rumor Eric heard is true.
在that用于引出一个从句的时候(“that”is the object in a relative sentence),省略that是ok的，读起来也是很清楚的。
再看这个句子:
The rumor that Eric started dyeing his hair is true.
The rumor Eric started dyeing his hair is true.
读一下这两个句子. 第二句子你就会觉得不对劲，会重读一遍才能看懂到底是什么意思. 这种情况之下, that不要省略。
That 和 形容词
As with verbs and nouns, there are adjectives that tolerate "that"-deletion pretty well, and adjectives that don’t.
Common adjectives such as "glad" or "sad" sound fine without a “that”:
I’m glad you came
We’re sad you’re leaving.
But when they’re less common, with more specific meanings, you’re better off keeping the "that." "She’s furious you never called" would sound better with a "that," and so would "We’re ecstatic you got the job.”
Go By Your Ear
If you’re a native English speaker, the main rule to follow here is to go by your ear. You probably know what sounds natural and what doesn’t, and all you need to do is give that native-speaker intuition more weight and authority than a rule stating that you should omit "that" whenever possible.
If you’re not a native speaker, I recommend keeping the "that" unless you’re dealing with a verb, noun, or adjective that you know will sound good without it. It’s safer to leave it in than to leave it out. As you write and read more, you’ll identify more of the words that allow you to omit "that."
@英语学习笔记
阅读原文: 2分钟搞懂 that / which