The “THAT” trap – Sentence Correction

The word “that” is one of the most flexible words that the CAT tests. It can take several roles and could easily be misused. More commonly, it serves as a red herring that forces readers to stop and think about the wrong things. That said, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of how “that” can be used and why. As a Modifier The first time many students start thinking about “that” is when they learn about modifiers. “That” can introduce a description of a noun, which is fully explained in our post on noun modifiers. Here’s what “that” as a modifier may look like: Did you see the cat that had a bushy tail? The village that was overrun with rats was visited by the Pied Piper. Running through the square, the boy that had stolen the bread looked over his shoulder for pursuers. In all three instances, the modifier appropriately refers to a noun. All of these noun modifiers are considered essential, meaning that they are necessary to fully understand the meaning of the sentence. If you read each sentence but remove the modifier, you’ll get something that makes sense grammatically, but you’re missing a major element in the sentence. Contrast that with a non-essential modifier: The dog, which had black and white spots, panted heavily after the race. The idea that the dog had black and white spots is not essential to the sentence. However, a modifier that uses “that” must be essential. By the way, re-read the previous sentence to spot the essential modifier. If you remove it, the sentence no longer has a correct meaning. When you see “that” being used as a modifier, your job is to make sure it is clearly modifying a noun, not an adjective, clause, or other part of the sentence. As a Pronoun The next time you’re likely to encounter “that” is when it is being used as a pronoun. The words this, that, these, and those are all considered demonstrative pronouns, though “that” is used far more frequently than the other three. This word has to follow the same rules that all pronouns must follow. Namely, it must agree with its antecedent and it must clearly refer to its antecedent. If there is ambiguity as to what “that” means, it is incorrect. Yet “that” is more complex than any of the deadly five pronouns (it its they them their). Identify the antecedent in the following: In the past, it was not uncommon for women to be regarded as second-class citizens, but in most modern societies that is considered an unacceptable philosophy. Rather than referring to a single noun, “that” refers to an entire noun phrase. In this case, it’s the idea that women were regarded as second-class citizens. So how might the CAT make that ambiguous? Check out this slightly modified sentence: In the past, it was not uncommon for women to be regarded as second-class citizens and for people of other races to be viewed almost as monsters, but in most modern societies that is considered an unacceptable philosophy. Now there are two noun phrases that could be the antecedent. The one about women or the one about other races. It is unclear which one “that” is meant to refer to. “That” is, by definition, singular, so can only refer to one noun phrase. As a Noun Clause The pronoun “that” can refer to an entire phrase. More commonly on the CAT, it will be used to introduce a noun phrase. Often, these usages are idiomatic, so get your flashcards ready if these are unfamiliar, but let’s look at a few examples first.. The rules state that anyone without shoes will not receive service. For centuries scientists held the belief that the world was flat, but that was replaced by the idea that the world was, in fact, round. In the first example, “that” introduces a noun phrase that describes what the rules have stated. The second example has two noun phrases introduced with “that,” along with a pronoun “that.” In this case, the pronoun “that” refers to the noun phrase “the world was flat.” We now have a noun phrase pronoun, “that,” referring to a noun phrase that was introduced also by the word “that.” Yet there is no ambiguity, so this sentence is correct. The major question here is when the word “that” is necessary for the noun phrase. Interesting, it’s not the phrase itself that triggers it, but rather the word that precedes “that.” Here are some words that often require a noun phrase introduced with “that”: He believes that… She states that… They concluded that… It claimed that… While these are idiomatic, there are some trends you may have noticed. Specifically, each of these introductory words indicates a statement of fact or something that is believed to be factual. When presenting a phrase as a fact, “that” is often required. “He presented the fact that this must be true.” The problem with this is that in spoken English, we often neglect to include the word “that,” which means your ear can and often does mislead you. Which of these sentences sounds correct when spoken aloud? I believe ghosts exist. I believe that ghosts exist. To most people, both of those sentences sound fine when spoken aloud. The CAT would say that the first is incorrect and the word “that” must be included. Don’t be fooled into trusting your ear on topics we know to be misleading. While there are a few other ways “that” may be used, this post covers the majority of what you’re likely to see on the CAT. It’s a crazy world when one word has so much flexibility, but it’s manageable.