that

I [[t]ðæ̱t[/t]] DEMONSTRATIVE USES

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(Please look at category 20 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.)

1) PRON You use that to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences.

They said you particularly wanted to talk to me. Why was that?...

`Hey, is there anything the matter with my sisters?' - `Is that why you're phoning?'...

Some members feared Germany might raise its interest rates on Thursday. That could have set the scene for a confrontation with the US.

DET

That is also a determiner.

The most important purpose of our Health Care is to support you when making a claim for medical treatment. For that reason the claims procedure is as simple and helpful as possible.

2) DET You use that to refer to someone or something already mentioned.

The Commissioners get between ₤50,000 and ₤60,000 a year in various allowances. But that amount can soar to ₤90,000 a year...

The biggest increase was on the cheapest model, the CRX-HF. That car had a 1990 base price of $9,145.

3) DET When you have been talking about a particular period of time, you use that to indicate that you are still referring to the same period. You use expressions such as that morning or that afternoon to indicate that you are referring to an earlier period of the same day.

The story was published in a Sunday newspaper later that week...

That morning I had put on a pair of black slacks and a long-sleeved black blouse.

4) PRON: PRON of n, PRON pron-rel You use that in expressions such as that of and that which to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it. [FORMAL]

A recession like that of 1973-74 could put one in ten American companies into bankruptcy...

Indoor pollution falls into two categories, that which we can see or smell, and pollution which is invisible and produces no odour.

5) PRON You use that in front of words or expressions which express agreement, responses, or reactions to what has just been said.

`She said she'd met you in England.' - `That's true.'...

`I've never been to Paris.' - `That's a pity. You should go one day.'

6) DET You use that to introduce a person or thing that you are going to give details or information about. [FORMAL]

In my case I chose that course which I considered right...

That person who violates the law and discriminates should suffer in his career.

PRON: PRON pron-rel

That which is used to introduce a subject in very general terms.

Too much time is spent worrying over that which one can't change.

7) DET You use that when you are referring to someone or something which is a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them. When there are two or more things near you, that refers to the more distant one.

Look at that guy. He's got red socks...

Where did you get that hat?...

You see that man over there, that man who has just walked into the room?

PRON

That is also a pronoun.

Leo, what's that you're writing?... That looks heavy. May I carry it for you?

8) PRON You use that when you are identifying someone or asking about their identity.

That's my wife you were talking to...

That's John Gibb, operations chief for New York Emergency Management...

`Who's that with you?' - `A friend of mine.'...

I answered the phone and this voice went, `Hello? Is that Alison?'

9) DET You can use that when you expect the person you are talking to to know what or who you are referring to, without needing to identify the particular person or thing fully. [SPOKEN]

I really thought I was something when I wore that hat and my patent leather shoes...

Did you get that cheque I sent?...

That idiot porter again knocked on my door!

PRON

That is also a pronoun.

That was a terrible case of blackmail in the paper today... That was a good year, wasn't it?

10) ADV: with brd-neg, ADV adj/adv If something is not that bad, funny, or expensive for example, it is not as bad, funny, or expensive as it might be or as has been suggested.

Not even Gary, he said, was that stupid...

It isn't that funny...

He didn't look that bad...

Kids don't change that fast.

11) ADV: ADV adj/adv (emphasis) You can use that to emphasize the degree of a feeling or quality. [INFORMAL]

I would have walked out, I was that angry...

Do I look that stupid?...

They actually moved down from upstairs because the rent's that expensive.

Syn:

so

12) → See also those

13) PHRASE: cl/group PHR (vagueness) You use and all that or and that to refer generally to everything else which is associated with what you have just mentioned. [INFORMAL]

I hate to be nasty and all that...

I'm not a cook myself but I am interested in nutrition and that.

14) PHRASE: n/adj PHR (emphasis) You use at that after a statement which modifies or emphasizes what you have just said.

Success never seems to come but through hard work, often physically demanding work at that...

The café was popular with locals, and not with the more respectable locals at that.

Syn:

too

15) PHRASE: PHR with cl/group You use that is or that is to say to indicate that you are about to express the same idea more clearly or precisely.

I am a disappointing, though generally dutiful, student. That is, I do as I'm told...

Education Ministers ought to have placed the interests of consumers - that is to say pupils - first.

16) PHRASE: V inflects You use that's it to indicate that nothing more needs to be done or that the end has been reached.

When he left the office, that was it, the workday was over.

17) CONVENTION (formulae) You use that's it to express agreement with or approval of what has just been said or done.

`You got married, right?' - `Yeah, that's it.'

Syn:

exactly

18) PHRASE: PHR with cl (emphasis) You use just like that to emphasize that something happens or is done immediately or in a very simple way, often without much thought or discussion. [INFORMAL]

Just like that, I was in love...

You mean he sent you back just like that?

19) PHRASE: V inflects You use that's that to say there is nothing more you can do or say about a particular matter. [SPOKEN]

`Well, if that's the way you want it,' he replied, tears in his eyes, `I guess that's that.'...

`I want you to go home.' - `I'm staying here, and that's that.'

20) like that → see like

this and that → see this

this, that and the other → see this

II [[t]ðət, STRONG ðæt[/t]] CONJUNCTION AND RELATIVE PRONOUN USES

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1) CONJ-SUBORD You can use that after many verbs, adjectives, nouns, and expressions to introduce a clause in which you report what someone has said, or what they think or feel.

He called her up one day and said that he and his wife were coming to New York...

We were worried that she was going to die...

I welcome the news that attacks on women on the railways are 19 per cent down.

2) CONJ-SUBORD: it v-link adj CONJ cl You use that after `it' and a link verb and an adjective to comment on a situation or fact.

It's interesting that you like him...

I've made up my mind, but it's obvious that you need more time to think...

It's extraordinary that he left without making a public statement about the situation.

3) PRON-REL You use that to introduce a clause which gives more information to help identify the person or thing you are talking about.

...pills that will make the problem disappear.

...a car that won't start...

You should have learned to walk away from things that don't concern you.

...the house that they have lived in throughout their married lives.

4) CONJ-SUBORD: so/such group CONJ cl You use that after expressions with `so' and `such' in order to introduce the result or effect of something.

She became so nervous that she shook violently...

She came towards me so quickly that she knocked a chair over...

Unfortunately it made such a revolting brew that it was worse than drinking no tea at all...

The effect on our blood chemistry is such that it produces physical changes in our entire body.