Using that to avoid misreading

If there is no danger of misreading, the word that may sometimes be omitted when it introduces a subordinate clause.

Example sentence: The value of a principle is the number of things [that] it will explain.

Occasionally, however, a sentence might be misread without that.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Looking out the family room window, Sarah saw her favorite tree, which she had climbed so often as a child, was gone. Revised sentence: Looking out the family room window, Sarah saw that her favorite tree, which she had climbed so often as a child, was gone. Explanation: The word

Sarah didn’t see the tree; she saw that the tree was gone. The word that tells readers to expect a clause, not just tree, as the direct object of saw.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: The field team discovered the site had been recently excavated. Revised sentence: The field team discovered that the site had been recently excavated. Explanation: The word

At first, the original sentence reads as if the team discovered the site. The word that makes it clear that the team discovered what had recently happened at the site.

Exercises:

Needed words 1

Needed words 2

Needed words 3

Needed words 4