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What "that means

That is function word used in the English language for several grammatical purposes

as a complementizer/subordinating conjunction. ("He asked that she go.")
to introduce a restrictive relative clause ("The test that she took was hard.") In this role that may be analyzed either as a relative pronoun or as a conjunction as in the first case; see Entglish relative clauses: That a relativizer instead of relative pronoun.
as a demonstrative pronoun ("That was hard.") (plural: those)
as a demonstrative adjective ("That test was hard.") (plural: those)
as an adverb ("The test wasn't that bad.")
In the first two uses the word is usually pronounced weakly, as /ðət/, whereas in the other uses it is pronounced /ðæt/.

In the Old English language that was spelled þæt. It was also abbreviated as a letter Thorn, þ, with the ascender crossed, ꝥ ( OE thaet.png ). In Middle English the letter Ash, æ, was replaced with the letter a, so that that was spelled þat, or sometimes þet. The ascender of the þ was reduced (making it similar to the Old English letter Wynn, ƿ), which necessitated writing a small t above the letter to abbreviate the word that ( ME that.png ). In later Middle English and Early Modern English the þ evolved into a y shape, so that the word was spelled yat (although the spelling with a th replacing the þ was starting to become more popular) and the abbreviation for that was a y with a small t above it ( EME that.svg ). This abbreviation can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible in places such as 2 Corinthians 13:7.

That is often omitted when used to introduce a subordinate clause—"He told me that it is a good read." could just as easily be "He told me it is a good read." Historically, "that" usually followed a comma: "He told me, that it is a good read." Middle Modern English grammarian Joseph Robertson recommended in On Punctuation that a comma be used with a conjunction. However, if the subordinate, conjunctional ellipse, null complement, or syntactic pleonasm of "that" is punctuated with a comma, then, in the English grammar, stylistically speaking, it is a comma splice, especially in formal writing. Instead, a semicolon should be used to be grammatically correct: He told me; it is a good read. In grammar, the usage of "that" constitutes a that-clause while its absence constitutes a bare clause.
 
restart said:
That is function word used in the English language for several grammatical purposes

as a complementizer/subordinating conjunction. ("He asked that she go.")
to introduce a restrictive relative clause ("The test that she took was hard.") In this role that may be analyzed either as a relative pronoun or as a conjunction as in the first case; see Entglish relative clauses: That a relativizer instead of relative pronoun.
as a demonstrative pronoun ("That was hard.") (plural: those)
as a demonstrative adjective ("That test was hard.") (plural: those)
as an adverb ("The test wasn't that bad.")
In the first two uses the word is usually pronounced weakly, as /ðət/, whereas in the other uses it is pronounced /ðæt/.

In the Old English language that was spelled þæt. It was also abbreviated as a letter Thorn, þ, with the ascender crossed, ꝥ ( OE thaet.png ). In Middle English the letter Ash, æ, was replaced with the letter a, so that that was spelled þat, or sometimes þet. The ascender of the þ was reduced (making it similar to the Old English letter Wynn, ƿ), which necessitated writing a small t above the letter to abbreviate the word that ( ME that.png ). In later Middle English and Early Modern English the þ evolved into a y shape, so that the word was spelled yat (although the spelling with a th replacing the þ was starting to become more popular) and the abbreviation for that was a y with a small t above it ( EME that.svg ). This abbreviation can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible in places such as 2 Corinthians 13:7.

That is often omitted when used to introduce a subordinate clause—"He told me that it is a good read." could just as easily be "He told me it is a good read." Historically, "that" usually followed a comma: "He told me, that it is a good read." Middle Modern English grammarian Joseph Robertson recommended in On Punctuation that a comma be used with a conjunction. However, if the subordinate, conjunctional ellipse, null complement, or syntactic pleonasm of "that" is punctuated with a comma, then, in the English grammar, stylistically speaking, it is a comma splice, especially in formal writing. Instead, a semicolon should be used to be grammatically correct: He told me; it is a good read. In grammar, the usage of "that" constitutes a that-clause while its absence constitutes a bare clause.
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love the explanation, very in depth and informative ... but the question wasn't about the word "that", it appears to really be about ". ?" ... so the question is really what the question mark means or what the period means ...
 
rsporsche said:
love the explanation, very in depth and informative ... but the question wasn't about the word "that", it appears to really be about ". ?" ... so the question is really what the question mark means or what the period means ...
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Damn, you guys are tough.... ;-)

Its really about the SELLER'S grammar, syntax and lack of pertinent info such as PRICE he is asking for his items.... !
DCG
 
I didn't think THAT I sent THAT.
Trigger finger must have twitched, due lack of caffeine and anxiety caused by RAIN here on the Wet coast.
no offence meant.

english is a difficult language to master!:-|
 
Alan
Please take it as we are trying to help you post your ad's.Your ad's really are hard to read and if you just take a second to read them I think you will find what we are wondering WTF.
 
tmason said:
Alan
Please take it as we are trying to help you post your ad's.Your ad's really are hard to read and if you just take a second to read them I think you will find what we are wondering WTF.
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I'm not.
I was trying to diffuse the bickering with humor.
I now see that my (humorous to me) comments do not help and just contribute to more off topic remarks.
apologies for past present and future digressions.

Best regards,
A
 
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