usage of 'that'

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Shalini Suresh: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:22 pm; Thanked: 4 times; Followed by:1 members

usage of 'that'

by Shalini Suresh » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:47 am

hi ,
In the following sentences.
1) She thought the puppy was cute.
2) She thought THAT the puppy was cute.

Can someone please point out when/why we use 'THAT' in such sentences?

Will usage of 'THAT' change meaning in any way ?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:47 am

EducationAisle: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 434; Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:42 pm; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 91 times; Followed by:46 members

by EducationAisle » Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:06 am

On GMAT, you would generally expect "that" in such cases.

Verbs such as "thought", "believed", "claimed", "suggested" etc. are followed with "that".

Ashish
MBA - ISB, GMAT - 99th Percentile
GMAT Faculty @ EducationAisle
www.EducationAisle.com

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm; Thanked: 1443 times; Followed by:247 members

by ceilidh.erickson » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:26 pm

THAT in your example is setting up a subordinate clause. Think of it this way:

She thought [something].

Here, the thing that she thought is the idea that the puppy is cute. Whenever the object of the verb is an idea/clause like this, it should be preceded by a THAT.

However, in common English usage, the "that" is so often dropped that it's considered grammatically ok to do so; the "that" is implied. However, as EducationAisle said, the GMAT will always adhere to the stricter rule, and use THAT every time.

Don't worry, though, they'll never ask you to choose between two sentences like this!

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Shalini Suresh: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:22 pm; Thanked: 4 times; Followed by:1 members

by Shalini Suresh » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:34 pm

ceilidh.erickson wrote:THAT in your example is setting up a subordinate clause. Think of it this way:

She thought [something].

Here, the thing that she thought is the idea that the puppy is cute. Whenever the object of the verb is an idea/clause like this, it should be preceded by a THAT.

However, in common English usage, the "that" is so often dropped that it's considered grammatically ok to do so; the "that" is implied. However, as EducationAisle said, the GMAT will always adhere to the stricter rule, and use THAT every time.

Don't worry, though, they'll never ask you to choose between two sentences like this!

thank you ! ceilidh.erickson

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EducationAisle: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 434; Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:42 pm; Location: Bangalore, India; Thanked: 91 times; Followed by:46 members

by EducationAisle » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:50 pm

While ceilidh is correct that there might never be two options on GMAT where the presence/absence of "that" is the only difference, this is actually quite a handy thing to remember.

You might want to look at few OG examples:

Q# 38 in OG13 diagnostic section:
Some of the wrong options:
....the studies indicate dolphins as capable....
....the studies indicate dolphins' ability to recognize....
....the studies indicate dolphins to be capable of recognizing....

Correct option:
....the studies indicate that dolphins are capable of recognizing...

Q# 41 in OG13 diagnostic section:
Wrong option:
...the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800-2600 B.C. indicate their development..

Correct option:
...the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800-2600 B.C. indicates that the development..

Q# 10 in OG13:
Some of the wrong option:
...big bang theory holds the beginning of the universe...
...big bang theory holds the universe to have begun...

Correct option:
...big bang theory holds that the universe began in...

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Shalini Suresh: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 26; Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:22 pm; Thanked: 4 times; Followed by:1 members

by Shalini Suresh » Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:47 pm

EducationAisle wrote:While ceilidh is correct that there might never be two options on GMAT where the presence/absence of "that" is the only difference, this is actually quite a handy thing to remember.

You might want to look at few OG examples:

Q# 38 in OG13 diagnostic section:
Some of the wrong options:
....the studies indicate dolphins as capable....
....the studies indicate dolphins' ability to recognize....
....the studies indicate dolphins to be capable of recognizing....

Correct option:
....the studies indicate that dolphins are capable of recognizing...

Q# 41 in OG13 diagnostic section:
Wrong option:
...the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800-2600 B.C. indicate their development..

Correct option:
...the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800-2600 B.C. indicates that the development..

Q# 10 in OG13:
Some of the wrong option:
...big bang theory holds the beginning of the universe...
...big bang theory holds the universe to have begun...

Correct option:
...big bang theory holds that the universe began in...

thanku Ashish