AEE 2706: When to Use "That" in English

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2706. When to use that in English. Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English?

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

Do you often hear native speakers using the word that and then not using the word that? What gives? Today, find out when it's optional and how to make the choice.

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You pause to search for the perfect word. Those small pauses add up and interrupt the natural flow of conversation. You can respond with ease without constantly analyzing every sentence. Our free two-minute fluency quiz will show you your current level and what skills you need to improve.

Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E. Hello, Aubrey. How are you today? I'm great. How are you doing, Lindsay?

I am doing great. Aubrey, did you know that English has more words than most languages? I did not know that, but I'm excited you both used that in your question and I used it in my answer. This might be the word that we use most in English, that little word that.

Yeah, it's everywhere. It's rampant, right? So that's why we thought we'd focus on this today. Why not? Yes. And we get questions from students about this a lot.

Like I've noticed sometimes in a sentence, a native speaker will use that and then the next sentence they'll drop it or someone else will drop it. Why? This is so tricky. So we're excited to dive into this today.

Yeah. We're going to clear up all of your questions and you'll come out of this episode feeling just more fluent, a deeper understanding of English, an important part of English. So Aubrey, where should we start today? Yeah.

So we're answering, this came up again in the Q&A, our Q&A recently, when to leave that and when to drop it. So just to share a couple examples here, right? This sentence, I knew she would be here soon. We definitely could say, I knew that she would be here soon.

There's no difference, right? So why do we use it? When do we drop it? Right. So just to clear, to clear this, just be really clear, just to make sure our listeners know.

So we have the option there, right? Aubrey, with that example, you could, it's a personal, is it just personal preference or? We're going to get into this. This is tricky.

There's a lot to it, right? So we're diving into this word today where there are a few different ways that we use it. And for this, yeah, they're both the same. They mean the same, right?

So here's another example. You said, did you know that English has more words than most languages? You definitely could have said, did you know English has more words than most languages? So we're going to share the different things that are making native speakers choose which one to use.

But sometimes it just sounds better to use that. Sometimes it seems like it clarifies the meaning more. And sometimes it sounds better to drop it. So when native speakers are choosing, it's more instinctual.

It's like which feels better, which sounds better rather than being a grammar rule that's making us choose one or the other. Okay. Got it. All right. So we'll get into this today.

We'll explain a bit more when to actually use that and when you should avoid it, right? Yes. All right. So why does this matter for connection, Aubrey?

Yeah. So this is interesting because we do use it a lot in conversations. It comes up constantly in everyday English, right? We use that in sentences when we're talking about what we feel or think or when talking about things people have said, it comes up so often.

And you don't want this to be something that's keeping you from connecting. Like, should I use that? Should I not? You would not want something like this to keep you from starting the conversation.

Oh my gosh, definitely not. If you're spending, that's the whole idea here of connection, not perfection. Don't spend that time in your head, hesitating, worrying, feeling embarrassed. Spend that time connecting.

Okay. So don't let this hold you back. Exactly. So we'll share when to use it so that you sound natural as well. And then people can always follow what you're saying more easily.

But be sure to hit follow, guys. We often will tackle grammar like this, where it's very subtle. It's not so much about a grammar rule determining what you should do. It's more about starting to feel what sounds right and what sounds natural.

Perfect. Guys, go ahead and hit that follow button right there. All right. So let's get into it a bit more, Aubrey. So that is used in many different ways, right?

That's the first thing we have to know. Yes. And today we're focusing on how it's used as a conjunction. Because there are like, there's a reason you hear that in almost every sentence and there are a lot of different uses for it.

So here we're talking about when we use it as a conjunction, that is a word that connects two parts of a sentence, right? So you've got an idea, a verb, or a noun phrase being connected to another clause. And that's when we're using that to connect these. Okay.

So for example, I knew that she would be here soon, right? Or did you know that they were married? Right. Or he said that he was tired. Yeah. And notice how for all of these, you could leave that out.

You could say, I knew she would be here soon. Did you know they were married? He said he was tired. So this is tricky. Let's look at the grammar structure here.

Okay. Yes. So usually or often we say the verb plus that plus the clause. Okay. So let's look at the types of verbs that are often used with that this way, right?

It's often used after words about thinking or knowing. So for example, think that. I think that she's losing interest in this game. Or knowing, right?

Knowing that. I know that you have to leave soon, but I'm hoping you'll stay. Or forget that. I forgot that you had a work trip tomorrow. Or sure that.

I'm sure that you aced the test. These, it's common to add that after. Yes. Or we might use it after communication words. So for example, said that. I said that I probably couldn't make it, but I'd try my best.

Or tell that, tell someone that. He told me that he had the flu. And it can also be used after words relating to what you're aware of. So we're just finding buckets here, guys, right?

Buckets of when it's commonly used, the word that. Words relating to what you're aware of. Heard something, right? Heard that. I heard that they were dating now.

Exactly. Or noticed. Notice that. I noticed that you always pick the raisins out of your dessert. Right. Yes. And there are some common phrases, common chunks that you'll hear that with.

For example, I'm glad that, or I'm happy that. I'm glad that we were able to meet up today. Yes. Or yeah, exactly. Or the fact that, right? The fact that it's going to rain this weekend disappoints me.

Right. Exactly. But you don't always have to use that in these sentences. It can be grammatically correct either way. It's more about how it sounds. All right.

So let's take a quick break here, Aubrey, and then we'll come back and talk a bit more. Okay. All right. Have you ever listened to native speakers and thought, I understand the words, but I still feel slightly lost.

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That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E. All right. So sometimes we drop it. Aubrey, tell us about this. Exactly. And we do this when it sounds better or more natural for the same way that sometimes we add it because it sounds better or more natural.

I was kind of thinking of some of these examples we were using and the shorter sentences especially. example, he told me that he had the flu. If I drop that, it feels so much choppier, right? He told me he had the flu.

It's a lot about the rhythm of language. We're adding that to give a little more rhythm to that sentence. It's interesting. Yeah. And it's also, it feels weird if you say told me he, he told me he.

It's probably the bumping vowels, right? Me, he. We add that to break those up. Interesting. For sure. What about for shorter sentences though? Yeah. So they're easy to understand and it doesn't cause confusion.

So for example, I think you're right, right? We don't need that here. I think that you're right. It feels unnecessary. Yeah. Yeah. So it's really, again, about how it sounds.

We could also say, she said she's tired. Instead of saying, she said that she's tired, she said she's tired. Okay? Yeah, exactly. I think the shorter the sentence, the more it's like you're not losing the thread of the sentence.

It's already short and concise. So we don't need the that in there to clarify anything or to create more rhythm within the sentence, right? Yeah. Another example, I know she left.

Yeah. I don't need to say, I know that she left. It just feels redundant. It feels extra, feels unnecessary. But again, don't forget, if you want to put it in there, you can too, right?

It's not grammatically incorrect. It's not grammatically incorrect. It's okay. It's just you have the option to take it off. I believe he's coming. I believe that he's coming, right?

I believe he's coming. Or I heard it's closed. Yeah, it's not wrong to say I heard that it's closed. But as native speakers, we're not normally going to choose that for a short sentence like this.

We are often trying to say things with less words, save time, and with already a short, concise sentence, that isn't needed as much. Yeah. Yeah. Let's put it this way.

It doesn't add a lot of value, right? Putting that in those short, quick, easy sentences. Okay. But where does it add value? I mean, when do we actually need to use it or should we use it?

This is when we need it, when the sentence is long or complex, right? It helps the listener separate the ideas and follow more easily. Part of it's helping with that rhythm and also separating clauses to make it easier to follow what's being said. Okay.

So what this sounds like is this. I realized that after all the meetings, delays, and last minute changes, we would not finish on time. Now, I technically could say I realized after all the meetings, delays, and last minute changes, we would not finish on time. Right, Aubrey?

Could I say that grammatically? Yes. Right. Both are grammatical. There's a reason we would often add that here. It's because this is such a long sentence such a long thought that that is like a signpost.

It's like a marker that's giving you the rhythm, the structure of a sentence so that our brain can follow more closely what's being said. Can you give us another example, Aubrey, of this long where we need signposts? Yes.

She explained that because the system had been updated multiple times, some of the older data wouldn't be available anymore. Yeah. And this especially, I would add it here, right? If I just say...

She explained because the system had been updated. This would be hard for a listener to follow, right? It's not ungrammatical, but it makes so much more sense. It clarifies the structure and meaning of the sentence to add that.

Okay, good. So another time when it makes sense to add it is in more formal writing, academic writing, professional writing, a professional email. Okay. where it's honestly, it's less about the delivery, less about the natural speech and more about accuracy.

So for example, it is important that students understand the process. Yeah, it's interesting how this makes it sound a little bit more formal, academic, more for written English. If you just say, it is important students understand the process, that sounds very informal, very much just like spoken speech, right? Whereas adding the that, now that's something I would write.

Yeah. What would be another example, Aubrey, of something formal? Yeah. It seems that further research is needed. Another really good example. Because if you just say, it seems further research is needed.

That's not ungrammatical. It's correct. But it just sounds a little more casual. Yes. Love it. So guys, it's all about options. You have a lot of options in the English language when it comes to inserting that, but it's a bit about a feeling of how you want to communicate smoothly or more formally, right?

Yes. And this is a great sort of a pro tip to think about sentence length. How simple is the sentence? The simpler the sentence, the less it's going to need that.

Those longer complex sentences are It's going to need it more to clarify. And then as with written, you know, written English, you're going to hear it more. But let's do a role play where we'll see how we'll use this.

You and I are friends here. We just returned from vacation. And you'll hear a few sentences here where we could use that or remove it. When we go through the role play, we'll kind of highlight those.

Yes. All right. Here we go. I'm exhausted. I didn't realize getting back would take so long. Well, I knew that the flight was over five hours, but I didn't realize there would be so much traffic on the way to the airport.

Ugh, same. I heard that weekends are always worse, but I didn't think it would be that bad. I know. And I feel like I forgot how tiring it is just sitting for that long.

Right? Somehow sitting makes you even more exhausted. I'm glad we're finally home. Next time, let's try to book our flight on a weekday to avoid the airport rush.

Sounds good. Oh, yeah. All the airports are so crowded these days. It's crazy. I haven't been in an airport for a while, so I'm going to have to believe you.

It's true. DIA is really crowded. Oh my gosh. Crawling with people. So I resonate with this conversation for sure. So here we have some scenarios where we didn't use that, but we could have, right?

Exactly. So first of all, I didn't realize getting back would take so long. So this is a simple enough sentence we don't really need to add. It does sound a little bit more formal to say, I didn't realize that getting back would take so long.

Yeah. And you could do it if you want to sound slightly more formal. Maybe you're talking to your coworker as opposed to your friend. I'm not sure if I would make that distinction there, that technically, right?

But you could, right? I didn't realize that getting back would take so long. Maybe it's just- That's what's interesting about it. It's not a grammar error, right?

It's just about what sounds right, what makes things a little clearer or a little more rhythmic. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What anchors the sentence a bit better in a way.

Don't you think? Yeah. Then we did use that. You said, well, I knew that the flight was over five hours, but I didn't realize there would be so much traffic.

Yeah. And this is interesting. You definitely could say, I knew the flight was over five hours. This is one of those where it's very interchangeable. You can throw it in, you can leave it out.

It's up to you. Sometimes it's just about someone's style of speech and And this doesn't really even feel that much more formal to me. Does it to you, Lindsay?

No, it really doesn't. Maybe it's not really a formality thing. It's an anchoring thing with the sentence. Does it feel stable in a way? It's hard to explain.

And sometimes it does feel like some of these will be like, that does feel slightly more formal. Mostly, I think it's when it's more unnecessary, when it's a short, simple sentence and we add it, that does feel a little more formal because it was unnecessary. We're adding it in. It sounds a little less casual.

Right. But for a sentence like this, that's longer, right? But it's still spoken speech. It's very, yeah, it's kind of anchoring the sentence, but you could take it or leave it.

Yeah. Maybe when we say formal, it means kind of rehearsed a bit more. Like it feels like maybe it was rehearsed a bit. Like we actually thought ahead of time.

Yeah. A little less conversational. Right. Interesting. And then another one here, same with I didn't realize. I didn't realize there would be so much traffic.

You could say I didn't realize that there would be so much traffic with or without it. Right. There's really no difference. Yeah, absolutely. And then I said same.

I heard that weekends are always worse. I could have also said I heard weekends are always worse. But it does sound a little more prepared or structured, I guess, when I say that.

Right. Exactly. It has that anchor, which does, it's very slight, right? And then I do want to point out at the end of that sentence, you said, but I didn't think it would be that bad.

This is a different use of that, right? It's not a conjunction here. It's not combining ideas, but that is everywhere. So you're going to see it in sentences.

It's not always a conjunction. Sometimes it's more pointing to a time length, right? Yeah. It's clarifying in other ways in sentences. So every time you see the word that, it's not always a conjunction.

And we did the same thing in the next sentence. You said, I know, and I feel like I forgot how tiring it is just sitting for that long, right? Right. And we use it in this way just to emphasize how much time it is.

For that long means a long amount of time. You need a real tone of voice there when you emphasize that. Yes, we emphasize it. Okay. What else? I'll break.

And then I said, I'm glad we're finally home. I could say I'm glad that we're finally home, but it's unnecessary there. It's a short enough sentence. And it does sound a little more like you said, rehearsed or formal if we add it there.

Yeah, I think that's the key difference, right? Interesting topic today because usually we're about what's right and what's wrong, right? But here we're about you have choices, right? And at the B2C1 level, guys, you're ready to make these choices and try things out a little bit differently.

First, I want to send you over to episode 2611, how to direct someone's attention with enthusiasm. You want that skill. So go over and listen to that episode. Right?

Yes. And this is interesting. I think whenever we have something like this, where it's not so much about grammar being right or wrong, and more about what sounds natural, this is when it's so important to do some shadowing and pay attention to this, right? Yes.

Pay attention to when people use that as a conjunction and when they leave it out. How did it feel? How long was the sentence, right? And just be observant of that.

And it'll start feeling more natural to you whether to leave it in or take it out. Yeah. And then take control of your English, right? I mean, think for yourself.

How does this feel when I use this or don't use it? And then the language becomes yours a bit more. And then we're really open to connect, Hubri, don't you think? Yes, absolutely.

But I love these general rules that you can avoid it with short sentences and in most conversation, but you're going to add it when the sentences are longer and need that anchor, need something to help you follow the meaning of these complex sentences. Yeah. such a good episode today. I'm really glad we covered this topic.

I can't believe we've never covered it before, but we did here. So that's done. Love it. Awesome. All right, Aubrey, you have a good rest of your day.

I'll talk to you soon. You too. See you next time. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz.

Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.