To keep or not to keep THAT is the question

Asked Nov 19 '20 at 06:50

Active Nov 19 '20 at 06:50

Viewed 71 times

Is it discretionary to drop "that" from the sentence below (and similar sentences)?

The movie's script was so bad it blew.

Or am I flouting some rule of grammar here?

Thank you!

asked Nov 19 '20 at 06:50

user405662

1

This is very basic question; one that would be more suited to the learners's site ELL – BillJ Nov 19 '20 at 07:24
Sorry for posting it here then. Could you please provide a short answer now that I have posted it here? – user405662 Nov 19 '20 at 07:28
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Here’s a question with an excellent answer (John Lawler’s). https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/50962/what-is-a-noun-modifying-clause/50971#50971 – Xanne Nov 19 '20 at 08:11
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Does this answer your question? What is a noun modifying clause? – Xanne Nov 19 '20 at 08:13
Thank you, Xanne – user405662 Nov 19 '20 at 08:17
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The subordinator "that" is optional here though its omission is characteristic of informal style. – BillJ Nov 19 '20 at 08:26
Thank you, BillJ! – user405662 Nov 19 '20 at 08:27
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@Xanne Lawler's answer was about relative clauses, but the subordinate clause in the OP's example here is a declarative content clause functioning as a complement. – BillJ Nov 19 '20 at 08:33
That's right, BillJ. – user405662 Nov 19 '20 at 08:35

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