Re: Strunk & White's "that"

Subject: Re: Strunk & White's "that"
From: "Pickett-Harner, Molly" <mop1 -at- NIORDS1 -dot- EM -dot- CDC -dot- GOV>
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 11:55:00 EST

Strunk & White's wee book is such a fun read -- couldn't resist adding
their dictates:

Strunk, says White, "...devotes a special paragraph to the vile expression
<the fact that,> a phrase that causes him to quiver with revulsion....The
student learns to cut the deadwood from 'this is a subject that,' reducing
it to 'this subject...' " [p. xiv]

"The ear...must decide when to omit <that> from a sentence, when to retain
it. 'He knew he could do it' is preferable to 'He knew that he could do it'
-- simpler and just as clear. But in many cases the <that> is needed. 'He
felt that his big nose, which was sunburned,,,,' Omit the <that> and you
have 'He felt his big nose....' " [p. 78]

See how easy it is? Dennis: your mentor must have been Strunk's student?

Molly Pickett-Harner
mop1 -at- niords1 -dot- em -dot- cdc -dot- gov
harner -at- access -dot- mountain -dot- net


----------
From: TECHWR-L
To: Multiple recipients of list TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Usage of "that"
Date: Thursday, February 01, 1996 6:15AM

On Wednesday, January 31, 1996 4:26 PM, Dennis Hays wrote:
>My old mentor taught me to remove the "that" and re-read the sentence.
If it makes sense, leave it out.


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