In mid-August, Forum member Justine Aragones posted in the Forum these two intriguing and I’d say provocative grammar questions: (1) “I noticed the word ‘that’ was used as introductory word for an opinion column in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer: ‘That the critics of Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 range from far left to far right in the political spectrum is a red flag which should cause us to sit up and take notice.’ Did it function as demonstrative pronoun or relative pronoun? Is it a style in writing?” (2) “Is the phrase ‘ways and means’ a redundant expression?”
IMAGE CREDIT: CAPTAINENGLISHSONGS.COMThe first question is about a sentence that I found so convoluted and so stylistically showy of the columnist’s facility with grammar that I was almost tempted to simplify it on the spot. What held me back was that the three-pronged question was precisely about “that”—its very first word—so I felt I should tackle it first before anything else.
“That” is used in that first sentence as a
demonstrative pronoun rather than a
relative pronoun. A
demonstrative pronoun typically points to the subject or object being described, its location in place, or its occurrence in time. It can be the subject or a direct or indirect object, object of the preposition, prepositional complement, or object complement of the sentence.
There are seven demonstrative pronouns in English, namely “this,” “that,” “these,” “those,” “such,” “none,” and “neither.” They look and sound too familiar to be discussed here, but since this is the very first time I’m discussing the subject at length in this column, I’ll take the time and trouble to define each of them.
The demonstrative pronoun “this”— “these is its “plural”—is the person, thing, or idea that’s present or near in place, time, or thought or that has just been mentioned. Singular: “
This is my dream.” Plural: “Those were my fantasies when I was young.”
“That”—“those” is its “plural”—is the nearby person, thing, or idea indicated, mentioned, or understood from the situation. Singular: “
That’s what I’m referring to—the nobility of his spirit!” Plural: “
Those are precisely what I meant in my lecture yesterday.”
“Such” is someone or something stated, implied, or exemplified. Example: “
Such was the outcome of the writer’s exhibitionism—his manuscript ending up in the editor’s trash bin.”
“None,” which can be either singular or plural, means “is not any,” “not one,” “not any such thing,” or “no part or nothing at all.” Singular: “
None of the two
is to blame.” Plural: “
None of the burgers we served
are left.”
And “neither” is not the one or the other of two or more. Example: “
Neither of those ideas of yours are doable.
As to the
relative pronoun, it’s a type of pronoun that often introduces dependent or relative clauses in sentences; it can stand alone as the subject or object of a sentence.
The five most common relative pronouns are “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” and “that.” Stand-alone relative pronoun: “The woman
who came to dinner was my fiancee.” Relative pronoun introducing a relative or dependent clause: “The guy
who was reported to have robbed the bank wasn’t the one
whom the police arrested.”
Now I’m yielding to my initial temptation of simplifying that columnist’s sentence. I’m boiling it down to this: “The critics of Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 strangely range from far left to far right in the political spectrum. It’s a red flag that should cause us to sit up and take notice.”
As to Forum member Justine’s question on whether the the phrase “ways and means” is redundant, it absolutely isn’t. It’s a time-honored term for finding
the ways and means to raise raise revenues to fund government operations. I won’t take issue with it at all.
(Next week:
Must an object always agree with its possessive pronoun?) September 3, 2020
This essay, 2,008th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the August 27, 2020 Internet edition of The Manila Times
,© 2020 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.Read this essay online in
The Manila Times:
How the English demonstrative pronouns work
