sample statements:
"I know we're going to succeed."
"I know that we're going to succeed."
usually, i end up just omitting 'that', due to what i feel is redundancy. is it wrong to omit the relative pronoun, or is it truly necessary?
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I actually have a very nerdy answer for you. (But this was a nerdy question, which deserves such an answer.)
ReplyDeleteThere are two uses of relative pronouns. The first is when they are used as a subject:
This is the dog THAT had a green color.
When used as a subject, it can't be omitted. However, in the sentence above, 'that' isn't being used as a subject. It's being used as an object:
This is the dog THAT I wanted you to see.
In this case, use of "that" is optional. Like in your sentence above.
I tend to use it even when it's not optional bc I think it sounds more complete. But it's not wrong to omit it. :-)
It's actually so interesting that you asked this. Every single time I'm writing in Xanga, and I come across the word "that", I wonder if I should omit the word or include it. I usually switch off. Lol. Lately, I think I've began to include it more because I've become more familiar with the Spanish language in which the word "que" which in some contexts means "that", must be included.
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