Comment
Paul Matthews
Hi Mike
Yes, "that" is a subordinating conjunction in your example. It's probably the most widely-used subordinator we have in English. It introduces what we often call that-clauses, though their real name is 'content clause'. Notice how, although the clause is subordinate, it has the same form as a main clause.
That- clauses function mostly as complement of a verb, noun, adjective or preposition:
(1) "The important point is [that your accent is okay as long as the listener can understand you]".
(2) "I realise [that you feel insulted]".
(3) "You can't ignore the fact [that he was drunk]".
(4) "I'm glad [that you could come]".
(5) "You can go provided [that you are careful]".
Ex (1) is yours. Here, the that-clause is predicative complement to the verb "is". In (2) the that-clause is complement of the verb "realise". In (3) it's complement of the noun "fact". In (4) it's complement to the adjective "glad" and in (5) it's complement to the preposition "provided".
As you can see from those examples, the subordinator "that" is used to introduce subordinate clauses in all kinds of sentences.
Notice also how 'that' is freely omissible in many (but not all) cases. In all the above examples, "that" is optional.
Does that help?
PaulM
Yes, "that" is a subordinating conjunction in your example. It's probably the most widely-used subordinator we have in English. It introduces what we often call that-clauses, though their real name is 'content clause'. Notice how, although the clause is subordinate, it has the same form as a main clause.
That- clauses function mostly as complement of a verb, noun, adjective or preposition:
(1) "The important point is [that your accent is okay as long as the listener can understand you]".
(2) "I realise [that you feel insulted]".
(3) "You can't ignore the fact [that he was drunk]".
(4) "I'm glad [that you could come]".
(5) "You can go provided [that you are careful]".
Ex (1) is yours. Here, the that-clause is predicative complement to the verb "is". In (2) the that-clause is complement of the verb "realise". In (3) it's complement of the noun "fact". In (4) it's complement to the adjective "glad" and in (5) it's complement to the preposition "provided".
As you can see from those examples, the subordinator "that" is used to introduce subordinate clauses in all kinds of sentences.
Notice also how 'that' is freely omissible in many (but not all) cases. In all the above examples, "that" is optional.
Does that help?
PaulM
PaulM, those are very helpful examples. Those examples helped me understand subject greatly. Thanks.
