Question from Hairstyler, Forum member (October 2, 2011):Dear Mr. Carillo,
Firstly, thanks a million again and again, for you always help me solve different English problems without asking for a consultation fee.
Now, according to what I know about English, the function of “that” is to introduce an adjective clause. But in the two sentences below, please tell me what “that” is doing grammatically:
(1) “He is no longer the simple-minded man
that he was five years ago.”
(2) “What he said and did there showed the man
that he was.”
Up to now, I really don’t know the function of “that” in those sentences.
Thanks,
Hairstyler
My reply to Hairstyler:You are correct in saying that the function of “that” is to introduce an adjective clause. This is the case in a sentence like “She made me believe
that life is but a dream.” Here, “that” functions as a subordinating conjunction to introduce the modifying adjective clause “life is but a dream” and link it to the main clause, “she made me believe.” But this is not the only function of “that” in English grammar. In fact, as I’m sure you’ll recall, “that” can even function also as a pronoun, adjective, and adverb.
But in relation to your question, let’s just focus on the various functions of “that” as a conjunction.
My Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary lists down as many as 10 functions of “that,” as follows:
1 a (1) — used as a function word to introduce a noun clause that is usually the subject or object of a verb or a predicate nominative <said that he was afraid> (2) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause that is anticipated by the expletive it occurring as subject of the verb <it is unlikely that he’ll be in> (3) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause that is joined as complement to a noun or adjective <we are certain that this is true> <the fact that you are here> (4) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause modifying an adverb or adverbial expression <will go anywhere that he is invited> b — used as a function word to introduce an exclamatory clause expressing a strong emotion especially of surprise, sorrow, or indignation <that it should come to this!>
2 a (1) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause expressing purpose or desired result <cutting down expenses that her son might inherit an unencumbered estate — W. B. Yeats> (2) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause expressing a reason or cause <rejoice that you are lightened of a load — Robert Browning> (3) — used as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause expressing consequence, result, or effect <are of sufficient importance that they cannot be neglected — Hannah Wormington> b — used as a function word to introduce an exclamatory clause expressing a wish <oh, that he would come>
3 — used as a function word after a subordinating conjunction without modifying its meaning <if that thy bent of love be honorable — Shakespeare>
You can see from the above functions of “that” that the usage in the two sentences you presented falls under Definition
1a (3), “as a function word to introduce a subordinate clause that is joined as complement to a noun or adjective.”
Now let’s take a close look at your two sentences:
(1) “He is no longer the simple-minded man
that he was five years ago.”
(2) “What he said and did there showed the man
that he was.”
In Sentence 1, the conjunction “that” introduces the subordinate clause “he was five years ago” as a complement to the noun “man” in the main clause. The intended meaning is, of course, that the man was simple-minded five years ago but is no longer simple-minded now.
Similarly, in Sentence 2, the conjunction “that” introduces the subordinate clause “he was” as a complement to the noun “man” in the main clause. In that sentence, the intended meaning is that the man’s action in the particular place referred to in the main clause showed what kind of man that person was.
The usage of “that” in those two sentences is really as simple as that.
