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anveshr735
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Usage of "That"

by anveshr735 Thu Nov 05, 2015 3:03 am

Solutions to problems X, Y and Z that were difficult, are displayed on notice board.(Note: X,Y and Z are singular nouns)

Is the usage of "that" correct?
tim
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Re: Usage of "That"

by tim Sat Nov 07, 2015 10:04 pm

Yes. You've got some punctuation errors, but you've got the pronoun correct.
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RonPurewal
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Re: Usage of "That"

by RonPurewal Sun Nov 08, 2015 10:56 pm

anveshr735 Wrote:Solutions to problems X, Y and Z that were difficult, are displayed on notice board.(Note: X,Y and Z are singular nouns)

Is the usage of "that" correct?


well... if 'x', 'y', and 'z' are specific problems, this sentence wouldn't work. but the reason isn't something for which you'll be responsible on this exam.

––– YOU WILL NOT NEED TO KNOW THIS FOR THE EXAM –––

', + who/which' DOES NOT qualify / narrow down the previous noun. rather, it just gives extra information about that noun.

e.g.,

Chicago, which lies downwind from Lake Michigan, receives a large amount of 'lake-effect' snow.
--> there's only one city of chicago, so nothing is being narrowed/qualified here.

My sister, who works downtown, can buy the tickets in person.
--> if i only have one sister, this sentence is correct (in that case the word 'sister' is not qualified/narrowed). if i have two or more sisters, the sentence is incorrect.

--

' + who/that' (NO comma) MUST qualify / narrow the previous noun in some way.
in other words, 'a NOUN that does xxxx' should describe only some, NOT all, NOUNs. (this is what it means to 'qualify' or 'narrow' a concept.)

e.g.,

Cities that lie downwind from the Great Lakes receive a large amount of 'lake-effect' snow.
--> not all cities lie downwind from these lakes, so this modifier is most certainly qualifying / narrowing down the word 'cities'.

My sister who works downtown can buy the tickets in person.
--> if i have 2 or more sisters but only 1 works downtown, this sentence is correct.
if i have only 1 sister, it's incorrect. (if i have 2 or more sisters who work downtown, it's incorrect in a different way.)

––– YOU WILL NOT NEED TO KNOW THIS FOR THE EXAM –––
RonPurewal
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Re: Usage of "That"

by RonPurewal Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:00 pm

anveshr735 Wrote:Solutions to problems X, Y and Z that were difficult, are displayed on notice board.(Note: X,Y and Z are singular nouns)


...so, here, it makes no sense to use ANY modifier starting with 'no comma + that', since it's impossible to qualify/narrow this down any further. (these are already 3 specific problems; you can't narrow that down any more!)

in the same way, you can't write anything like 'Chicago that xxxxx' or 'Ron Purewal who xxxxx'—in any sentence—because there's only one chicago and only one ron purewal (and thus 'chicago' or 'ron purewal' is impossible to qualify/narrow down).

again, remember that you will never NEED to know this on the exam. always consider more important things before thinking about stuff like this.
anveshr735
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Re: Usage of "That"

by anveshr735 Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:15 pm

Thanks a lot...Will concentrate on important stuff:)
tim
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Re: Usage of "That"

by tim Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:46 am

That's the best way to study! :)
Tim Sanders
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RonPurewal
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Re: Usage of "That"

by RonPurewal Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:36 pm

anveshr735 Wrote:Thanks a lot...Will concentrate on important stuff:)


excellent.