CHAPTER 7

‘THAT’ COMPLEMENTS
(© Sentence Processes, Nadina Vișan)

That – complements constitute the most representative class of complement clauses. Apart from
those introduced by that, complement clauses can be preceded by
• for
(1) It is good for them to know Mathematics.
(E bine să ştie matematică.)
• Whether
(2) I don’t know whether he will recover.
(Nu ştiu dacă se va însănătoşi.)
• If
(3) Tell me if you need anything.
(Spune-mi dacă ai nevoie de ceva.)
• 
(4) They wanted to leave immediately.
(Voiau să plece imediat.)

6.1. Syntactic Properties That Characterize ‘That’ – Complements

6.1.1. Extraposition

Extraposition is a very frequent structure in English, being found not only in the case of that-
clauses, but also of infinitival ones. The term extraposition refers to a construction where the expletive
(empty) pronoun it appears in front position, followed by the complement clause in peripheral
position. In other words, the clause is extraposed, placed in a marginal position.
This phenomenon is true of more than one syntactic functions, but the subject positions the most
frequently met in English:
• Subject Clause
unextraposed:
(5) That Dorothy flew from Kansas was a surprise to everybody.
(A fost o surpriză pentru toată lumea faptul că Dorothy a plecat din Kansas.)
extraposed
(6) It was a surprise to everybody that Dorothy flew from Kansas.
(A fost o surpriză pentru toată lumea faptul că Dorothy a plecat din Kansas.)

• Direct Object Clause

unextraposed:
(7) The plumber wrongly figured out that the pipe needed replacing.
(Instalatorul a considerat în mod greşit că ţeava trebuia înlocuită.)
extraposed
(8) The plumber wrongly figured it out that the pipe needed replacing.
(Instalatorul a considerat în mod greşit că ţeava trebuia înlocuită.)

• Prepositional Object
unextraposed:
(9) Can you swear that the accused spent the evening with you?
(Puteţi jura că acuzatul a petrecut noaptea cu dumneavoastră?)
extraposed:
(10) Can you swear to it that the accused spent the evening with you?
(Puteţi jura că acuzatul a petrecut noaptea cu dumneavoastră?)

6.1.2. Topicalization

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 Topicalization is the reverse of extraposition: a subject clause which is initially placed in the
sentence is said to be topicalized.

Compare:
(11) That my horse is the best in the world is absolutely evident.
(Este clar ca bună ziua că armăsarul meu este cel mai bun.)
(12) It is absolutely evident that my horse is the best in the world.
(Este clar ca bună ziua că armăsarul meu este cel mai bun.)

Extraposition is the structure that appears much more frequently in English and that is why we
consider it to be the marked case; since topicalization appears mostly when a writer/speaker wishes to
create a special effect of emphasis, we consider topicalization to be the marked case in the language.

6.1.3. Clause Shift

Clause Shift is a syntactic operation that parallels that of Heavy NP Shift. A NP (Noun Phrase)
is said to be heavy when it has a large stretch of modifiers accompanying it: for instance the noun
phrases the letter or the red letter are much lighter than the noun phrase the letter which he had just
read.
The rule of Heavy NP Shift stipulates that the heavy NP should be moved to the right and of
the sentence for semantic reasons:
Compare:
(13) He threw the letter which he had just decoded into the basket.
(A aruncat scrisoarea pe care abia o descifrase la coş.)
to
(14) He threw into the basket the letter which he had just decoded.
(A aruncat la coş scrisoarea pe care abia o descifrase.)

The sentence under (14) had undergone heavy NP shift by placing the long NP at the end of
the whole structure so that the sentence could be more clearly understood. This rule is in fact an
exceptional one in that it challenges the fixed word order rules in English, according to which a verb
should not normally be separated from its obligatory complement.
Clause Shift is a similar rule to Heavy NP Shift as it allows for the clausal structure to be
moved to the right end of the sentence. This syntactic operation differs from extraposition in that there
is no pronoun left behind and that clause shift operates only on object clauses. The clausal constituent
is moved over an adverb phrase or a prepositional phrase as follows:
Since

(15) *Mary said [that she wanted to drive] quietly.

is not semantically acceptable, because the adverb phrase quietly may erroneously refer to the last verb
phrase in the sentence (i.e. the verb to drive), clause shift operates and the resulting grammatical
structure is:

(16) Mary said quietly that she wanted to drive.

(Mary spuse liniştit că vrea să conducă maşina.)

This way, the adverb can no longer have ambiguous interpretation. It is obviously linked to the
main clause verb as intended.
Let us also supply an example where the clausal structure jumps over prepositional phrase:
From the ungrammatical structure under (17).

(17) *They wrote that the firm was going bankrupt to the lawyers.

we obtain, by means of clause shift,

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(18) They wrote ti to the lawyers [that the firm was going bankrupt] i
(Le-au scris avocaţilor că firma urma să dea faliment.)

We use the notation ti (trace co-indexed with the ‘that’ clause) to underline the fact that the
clausal structure has been moved in a more semantically advantageous position.

6.2. The Distribution of That Complements

That complements can acquire a whole range of syntactical functions:
• Subject

(19) That her husband might be Jack the Ripper slightly annoys Mary.
(Mary e puţin enervată de ideea că soţul ei ar putea fi Jack Spintecătorul.)

• Direct Object

(20) They reported that the bridge had fallen down.

(Au raportat că podul s-a prăbuşit.)

• Prepositional Object

(10) She was aware that her husband was lying to her.
(Era conştientă de faptul că soţul ei o minte.)

• Adverbial

(11) She remained at home so that she would look after the kids.
(A rămas acasă să aibă grijă de copii.)

• Predicative

(12) The important thing was that nobody knew about it.
(Lucrul important era că nimeni nu ştia despre asta.)

• Attribute

(13) The report that the bridge had fallen down was not true.
(Raportul în care se spune că s-a prăbuşit podul este fals.)

Let us supply a detailed list of verbs or adjectives that require the presence of these complements.
We will begin by discussing the context where that complements appear as direct objects, since this is
the most frequent function they fulfil.

6.2.1. That Complements as Direct Object

Here is a list of classes of verbs after which that complements function as direct objects:
a) Simple transitive verbs: such as assert, affirm, consider, deem, judge, estimate, deny, desire,
predict, prefer, state, etc.:

(25) a. He announced their engagement.

(Şi-a anunţat logodna.)
b. He announced that they were engaged.
(A anunţat că sunt logodiţi.)
(26) I really dislike it that he is here. (Extraposed)
(Mă deranjează faptul că este aici.)
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(27) a. They believe that the man is guilty.
(Cred că omul este vinovat.)
b. They believe the man is guilty. (with that-deletion)
(Cred că omul este vinovat.)
(28) He asserted forcefully that he was innocent (with Clause Shift)
(A susţinut cu tărie că este nevinovat.)

b) Ditransitive verbs such as: say, promise, communicate, explain, suggest, etc.
These verbs are called ditransitive because they require two obligatory complements: a direct object
and an indirect object:

(29) They promised him a new house.

(I-au promis o casă nouă.)

(30) They promised him that he would receive a new house.

(I-au promis că va primi o casă nouă.)

Since the direct object that clause is heavy, it tends to appear in peripheral position by means of
several syntactic processes:

(31) I explained to Susan that I would be back very late. (Clause Shift)
(I-am explicat lui Susan că mă voi întoarce foarte târziu.)

(32) a. I explained it to Susan that I would be back very late.

(I-am explicat lui Susan că mă voi întoarce foarte târziu.)
b. He owes it to his father that he became lawyer. (Extraposition)
(Faptul că a devenit avocat i-l datorează tatălui său.)

6.2.2. That Complements as Subjects

a) This position is filled by that complements in combination with a rather limited number of
intransitive verbs: seem, appear, happen, turn out, matter, come about, follow, etc.:

(33) It appeared that a life could be interesting, amusing, and ultimately trivial.
(Iris Murdoch, An Accidental Man)
(Se părea că o viaţă poate fi interesantă, amuzantă, şi în fine trivială.)
Some of these verbs (seem, occur, appear) may optionally be followed by an indirect object:

(34) a. It appeared to him that she was lying to him.

(I se părea că îl minte.)
b. It occurred to John that he needed a new car.
(Îi veni ideea că John are nevoie de o maşină nouă.)

The most important thing to notice with this class of intransitive verbs is that only extraposed
structures are grammatical:

(12) a. It appears to me that this is a new beginning.

(Mi se pare că acesta este un nou început.)
b. *That this is a new beginning appears to me.

b) adjectives (evaluative adjectives, that express a belief of the speaker):

• likely, unlikely, certain, sure, etc.
• clear, possible, probable, appropriate, fair, good, interesting, etc.

(36) a. It was in any case obvious that Marriage was Dorina’s lot.
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 (Era în orice caz clar că i se potrivea Dorinei să fie căsătorită.)
b. It was not just that Austin was an object of interest because of the Matthew legend.
(Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(Nu era numai faptul că Austin constituia un obiect de interes din cauza legendarului Matthew.)

Sometimes the adjective can appear alone, or without the copula:

(37) a. Odd that one should so naturally wish to lie upon one’s bed to go to sleep forever.
(Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(Ciudat că poţi dori cu atâta naturaleţe să te întinzi în pat şi să adormi pe vecie.)
b. … for a few days I thought it possible that you wanted simply to nerve yourself to break
things off.
(Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(… câteva zile am crezut că e posibil să îţi doreşti pur şi simplu să ai curajul să distrugi totul.)

Some of these adjectives my take indirect objects:

(38) a. That he knew nothing about Poland was obvious to all his friends.
(Era clar pentru toţi prietenii lui că nu ştia nimic despre Polonia.)
b. It was obvious to all his friends that he knew nothing about Poland.
(Era clar pentru toţi prietenii lui că nu ştia nimic despre Polonia.)

b) Nouns – that come from the same semantic area as adjectives: problem, idea, impediment,
surprise, miracle, pity, wonder, etc.

(39) It is a wonder that you weren’t killed.

(E mare minune că nu ai fost ucis.)

The noun can appear in isolation:

(40) a. A pity that men were so impatient.

(J. Galsworthy – Over the River)
(Păcat că bărbaţii sunt aşa de lipsiţi de răbdare.)
b. A pity men were so impatient. (that – deletion)
(J. Galsworthy – Over the River)
(Păcat că bărbaţii sunt aşa de lipsiţi de răbdare.)

d) –ing forms (verbal nouns)

(41) a. There was no denying that business was rotten.
(Nu exista îndoială că afacerile mergeau prost.)
b. There was no denying business was rotten. (that-deletion)
(Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(Nu exista îndoială că afacerile mergeau prost.)

e) psychological transitive verbs : alarm, amaze, annoy, confuse, please, frighten, interest, pain,
relieve, soothe, tempt, trouble, etc.:

(42) a. It stirs me that I was thought worthy

(Mă impulsiona faptul că mă credeau vrednic.)
b. That everybody blames him obviously depressed him.
(Faptul că toată lumea da vina pe el îl deprima evident.)

6.2.3. That Complements as Prepositional Objects

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 It is known that the presence of THAT normally excludes the possibility that a preposition
could appear in front of the that complement. We assume that prepositions are dropped in front of
that-clauses. We retain however the name prepositional object clause for these particular that-
complements because the basic structure it is derived from is a predicate + a preposition:
e.g. decide on something > decide that …

(43) a. She decided on coming here.

(S-a hotărât să vină aici.)
b. She decided that she would come here.
(S-a hotărât că va veni aici.)

In example (43) we consider that the underlined clause functions as prepositional object
required by the verb decide.
That complements appear as prepositional objects after:
a) simple intransitive prepositional verbs:
decide on, pray for, see to, admit of, ask for, bring about, rejoice at, theorize about, vote for, etc.:

(44) a. He wondered that she was still there.

(S-a mirat că mai este acolo.)
b. They voted that the strike should go on.
(Au votat să continue greva.)
c. You may depend upon it that he will agree with your terms. (Extraposed)
(Poţi conta pe faptul că va fi de acord cu condiţiile tale.)
b) transitive prepositional verb: advise somebody of, accuse somebody of, blame somebody for,
congratulate somebody on ,etc.:

(45) He informed them that he would leave.

(I-a informat că pleacă.)

c) the exceptional case of the verb remind somebody of

where there is an indirect object present:

(46) They remind him that she should leave.

(I-au amintit să plece.)

d) adjectives: afraid of, confident in, alarmed at, happy about

(47) a. I was afraid that she might not come.

(Mă temeam că s-ar putea să vină.)
b. I was fully aware of it that things were so bad.
(Extraposed)
(Îmi dădeam perfect seama că lucrurile stăteau prost.)

6.2.4. ‘That’ complements as Predicatives

They appear in equative copulative sentences (of the type X is Y or Y is X) when the subject is
an abstract nominal such as:
fact, idea, statement, claim, reason, etc.:

(48) a The fact is that he cannot join us tomorrow.

(Fapt e că nu poate veni cu noi mâine.)
b. The second reason for my departure was that I didn’t love Bill any more.
(Al doilea motiv pentru plecarea mea era că nu-l mai iubeam pe Bill.)

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6.2.5. ‘That’ Complements as Attributes
after abstract nouns (idea, fact, etc )
after deverbal nouns (nouns derived from verb):
claim, wish, proposal, etc. :

(49) The fact that she is in debt bothers his wife immensely.
(Faptul că are datorii o deranjează enorm pe nevastă-sa.)

One has to bear in mind that the examples above contain that complements, not wh-ones. We
included that-relative clauses in the larger class of wh-complements (although relative that, like now,
for instance, are not graphically wh-words). The examples here contain only that complements and
this is explained by the fact that they are required only by nouns that are either abstract, or derived
from verbs.

Compare:

(50) the book that I gave him

(cartea pe care i-am dat-o)

Where that is replaceable by which (i.e. the book which I gave him),
to:

(51) the wish that he should return the money.

(dorinţa ca el să returneze banii.)
Where in fact the that-clause can be seen as the former complement of the verb wish:

(52) She wished that he should return the money.

(Dorea ca el să returneze banii.)

A further argument against interpreting the that-clause from (51) as a relative clause is the fact
that the introductory element cannot be replaced by which in this case:
(53)* the wish which we should return the money.

6.2.6. ‘That’ complements as Adverbials

Adverbial that clauses can be divided into two classes according to what pattern of
subordination they observe:
a) the prepositional phrase model – where prepositional phrases are used to introduce that-adverbial
clauses: for fear that, on the ground that, in order that, to the end that, in the hope that, in/with the
intent that, on purpose that, in event that, on condition that, with a view that, etc.:

(53) a. They dislike her on the ground that she is too proud.
(O antipatizeaza pe motiv ca e prea mindra.)
b. They paid her a large salary in the hope that she would stay with them.
(I-au dat un salariu mare in speranta ca va ramine la ei.)

In example (54) the Conjunctive phrases introducing it are formed by means of a prepositional
phrase and that. The noun within the prepositional phrase indicates the meaning, the interpretation of
the adverbial clause:
ground => reason, hope =>purpose.
The nouns in these constructions tend to become grammaticalized (i.e. they lose their meaning,
become abstract) and that is why they may lose their ability to take determiners and adjectives: we
say, for example, on condition that, not *on the condition that exactly because the noun is losing its
autonomous meaning and is becoming more and more part of the conjunctive phrase.
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 In older stages of English, prepositions were allowed in front of that-clauses, but nowadays
there are very few examples of this kind left:

(54) Before that man came I saw you. (this example is a sample of archaic language, similar to the
construction existent in Romanian:
Te-am văzut înainte ca el să vină.)
(55) I like him in that he is smart. (this is one of the few examples still used in contemporary
English.)
(Îmi place de el pentru că e deştept.)

A similar situation is exhibited in:

(56) a. … now that Charlote had insinuated herself into the flat there was nowhere to bring Dorina
…
(Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(…acum că Charalote se insinuase în apartament nu mai avea unde să o aducă pe Dorina…)
b. She has everything save that she lacks intelligence.
(Nu-i lipseşte nimic cu excepţia faptului că nu e inteligentă.)

c) adverbial subordination – by means of that conjunction phrases where there are no prepositional
phrases available:
Result: so +adverb/adjective … that – in this structure the degree word (so, such) is crucial for the
grammaticality of the sentence in question:

(57) He is so competent a teacher that every student loves him.

(Este un profesor atât de competent încât toţi studenţii îl iubesc.)
(58) *He is a competent teacher that every student loves him.
(59) He is such a nice man that women instantly fall for him.
(Este un om aşa de drăguţ că femeile se îndrăgostesc imediat de el.)
(60) *He is a nice man that women instantly fall for him.

That can be deleted, as is shown in the following:

(61) He placed his chair by the window so he would see her pass.
(Şi-a pus scaunul lângă fereastră, să o vadă trecând.)

When the structure contains the word such, the noun following it is deletable:

(62) a. His answer was such an answer that we couldn’t doubt its wisdom.
(Astfel sună răspunsul lui încât nu ne puteam îndoi de înţelepciunea sa.)
b. His answer was such that we couldn’t doubt its wisdom.
(Astfel suna răspunsul lui încât nu ne puteam îndoi de înţelepciunea sa.)

On some occasion SUCH can optionally move:

(63) a. He gave such an answer that we couldn’t doubt it.

(I-a dat un asemenea răspuns că nu ne-am putut îndoi de el.)
b. He gave an answer such, that we wouldn’t doubt it.
(I-a dat un asemenea răspuns încât să nu ne putem îndoi de el.)
(64) a. He gave such an answer as had expected.
(I-a dat genul de răspuns pe care îl aştepta.)
b. He gave an answer such that I had expected.
(I-a dat un răspuns pe care îl aştepta.)

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6.3. ‘That Deletion
6.3.1. When Can We Delete ‘That’?
- It is impossible to delete that in unextraposed clauses:

(65) That he will ever come back is a question still.

(Încă ne întrebîm dacă se va mai întoarce.)
(66) * He will ever come back is a question still.
- That – deletion is more acceptable if the verb/adjective/noun requiring the complement clause is a
frequently used item or if it is frequent in combination with that-clauses.

(67) a. He showed he was able to do it.

(A dovedit că poate să facă asta.)
b. He got word they were coming.
(A prins de veste că ei vin.)
c. He said he had borrowed her money.
(A spus că a împrumutat bani de la ea.)

The omission of that is an indication that the speaker does not want to be formal, that he uses a
relaxed tone.
If the verb in question is a not so ordinary one, omission of that is impossible:
(68) *He objected it was already too late to leave.

6.3.2. When is ‘That’ Obligatory?

- That can be deleted if it follows the main verb/adj./noun directly, but it is usually required if the
complement clause is separated from the main verb by intervening material:

(69) It had also produced the certainty that they belonged together and that, for better or worse, they
were chained to each other forever. (Iris Murdoch, ibid.)
(De asemenea, condusese la certitudinea că trebuiau să fie împreună şi că, bune, rele, erau
legaţi pe veci unul de celălalt.)
(70) *It had also produced the certainty that they belonged together and, for better or worse, they
were chained to each other forever.

In example (71) we interpret the last clause as being coordinated with the main clause not with
the first that clause, because that has been deleted.
- ‘That’ deletion is blocked if an object clause has been extraposed:

(71) a. I like it that he was here.

(Îmi place că e aici.)
b. *I like it he was here.

6.3.3. When is ‘That’ Deletion Obligatory?

That deletion is absolutely obligatory if the subject of the complement clause is questioned or
relativized:
You say

(73) Who did you say was coming?

(Cine spui că a venit?)

But never

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(74) *Who did you say that was coming?

This is explainable by the fact that who is the subject of the that clause. The presence of that can
lead to a double subject construction, which is ungrammatical.

6.4. The Sequence of the Tenses in Object That Clauses

The tenses in complement clauses are oriented towards the tenses of the main clause, thus
showing the temporal relation (anteriority, simultaneity, posteriority) holding between the actions of
the main and the subordinate clause. The changes in the embedded clause are as follows:
Present -----→ Past

(75) a. “She is there”, he said.

(“Este acolo”, spuse el.)
b. He told me that she was there.
(Mi-a spus că ea este acolo.)

Past ]
Present Perfect ] Past Perfect
Past Perfect ]

(76) a. “She was here”, he said.

(“Era acolo”, spuse el.)
b. He told me that she had been there.
(Mi-a spus că a fost acolo.)

Future -------→ Future in the Past

(77) a. I will leave her.

(Am să o părăsesc.)
b. He said he would leave her.
(A spus că o să o părăsească.)

Future Perfect ------→Future Perfect in the Past

(78) a. He will have arrived by the time she leaves.

(Până pleacă vine el.)
b. He said he would have arrived by the time she left.
(A spus că o să vină el până pleacă ea.)

Let us discuss those particular cases when these rules are optional:

1. The Present – Past rule can be optional with the so-called FACTIVE verbs (that is verbs that
presuppose the truth of their complement).
For instance, when you say.

(79) I realize that he is a genius.

(Îmi dau seama că este un geniu.)

the complement clause is interpreted as true. And that is demonstrated by the fact that even if we
negate the main clause, the truth value of the complement clause remains the same:

(80) I don’t realize that he is a genius (that means still that he is a genius, only I don’t realize it).

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With such verbs as realize, forget, mention, regret, discover, show, notice, be amazed/concerned, say,
report, etc. the rule of the sequence of tenses Present ---→ Past is optional:

(81) a. Bill reported that coconuts grew high upon trees.

(Bill a anunţat că nucile de cocos stau foarte sus în copac.)
b. Bill reported that coconuts grow high upon trees.
(Bill a anunţat că nucile de cocos stau foarte sus în copac.)

On the other hand, there is a whole range on verbs that require that the rule should be observed:
know, be aware, think, believe, dream, wish, hope, insist, whisper, etc.

(82) It seemed/was likely/possible/unfortunate that the new leader of the group was/*is an
undercover agent.
(Părea / era probabil / posibil / neplăcut că noul conducător al grupului era agent secret.)

If we consider this rule outside the domain of that complements, we notice that general truths,
expressed by the Generic Present are normally preserved in the present even if they can be found right
in the middle of a narration:

(83) It was and was not like the first day of the honeymoon when the newly maarried pair, in tender
deference to each other, feign habits which are not their own. (Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince)
(Era şi nu era ca în prima zi a lunii de miere când perechea proaspăt căsătorita, cu un respect
tandru unul faţă de altul, simulează obiceiuri care nu le aparţin.)

The Past Tense imposes itself when the action expressed by it is relevant to some point in the past,
with which the speaker does not wish to identify himself:

(84) a. She still believed that the earth was flat.

(Ea tot mai credea că pământul este plat.)
b. She believed that the earth is round.
(Ea tot mai credea că pământul este rotund.)

In (84) a Past is used to show that the speaker does not agree with what the character ‘she’
considers to be a general truth.
Consider also:

(85) a. She realized that all men are fools.

(Şi-a dat seama că toţi bărbaţii sunt nişte proşti.)
b. He knew that she thought all men were fools.
(Ştia că ea crede că toţi bărbaţii sunt nişte proşti.)

In (85b) ‘he’ disagrees with her opinion and that is why Past Tense is used.

2) The rule Past -----→ Past Perfect is sometimes disregarded in certain complements which contain a
non-durative, simple Past Tense (that) cannot be seen as simultaneous with the verb in the main
clause:

(86) a. She suspected that Bill had left before the police arrived.
(Ea bănuia că Bill plecase înainte să sosească poliţia.)
b. She suspected that Bill left before the police arrived.
(Ea bănuia că Bill a plecat înainte să sosească poliţia.)

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 Both sentences are grammatical and the presence of the adverbial clause before the police arrived
contributes to the optional character of the rule, since it indicates that the event of Bill’s leaving is
anterior to the arrival of the police.

Compare this example to

(87) She suspected that Bill had been there.

(Bănuia că Bill fusese pe acolo.)

where the durative character of the verb be makes it impossible for the rule to be broken:

(88) She suspected the Bill was here.

(Bănuia că Bill este acolo.)

in this case the meaning of the sentence is changed.

(87) shows the anteriority of Bill’s being there whereas (88) shows that the two events suspect and be
there are simultaneous.

3. Future – Future in the Past – this rule is rarely optional. There are however cases, such as

(89) a. Peter said that John would leave at 5.

(Peter a spus că John o să plece la 5.)
b. Peter said that John will leave at 5.
(Peter a spus că John o să plece la 5.)

In (89b) the sequence of the tenses is not observed because for us it isn’t yet 5 o’clock. Imagine,
for instance, that you are uttering this sentence in front of your friend. The time is 3 o’clock. Of course
in this case you will use the future not the Future in the Past.

6.5 Key Concepts

That complements differ from that relatives in that they appear as required by a verb, adjective
or a deverbal noun.
The most important syntactic properties they have are extraposition (by means of which the
clause is placed at the end of the sentence and announced by the pronoun it), topicalization (the
reverse of extraposition and means of emphasis) and clause shift (syntactic operation of placing the
clause at the end of the sentence when the main clause contains, adverbial or prepositional phrases
related to the main clause verb). These syntactic operations are shared by that-clauses with other
complement clauses (such as TO-infinitives or wh-complements).
That-complements can hold any sort of syntactical function, from the ordinary subject, object
ones up to the attributive function, which they share with wh-complements.
On certain occasions that can be deleted, on other occasions it has to stay there, or else.
That object clauses normally observe the rules of the sequence of the tenses with a few
(significant) exceptions.

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 Seminar 6 – That-complements

1. Which of the following that clauses are extraposed ones? What is their syntactical function?

1. It occurred to him that people were laughing behind his back. 2. Nobody knew that they were sorry
for what they had done. 3. It was known to no one that Peter had tried to take his own life. 4. The
crowd resented it that the police had been sent for. 5. Magellan regrets it that the world is round. 6. It
appears that no one voted for him. 7. It was suggested that they should meet the President. 8. It is too
bad that they always make fun of Gillian. 9. I don’t like it that he should be left alone in my flat. 10.
He will answer for it that his son is innocent. 11. You may depend on it that I will pick you up.

2. Try to undo the effect of It Extraposition in the following sentences:

1. It worried me a bit that she didn’t visit her aunt. 2. It is not quite clear whether the trains would be
running tomorrow. 3. It will be soon announced when you can leave. 4. Is it true that the children are
sick? 5. It so happens that I know the secret cipher. 6. It seems such a shame that he never takes her
out. 7. It is incredible how many good students drop out of school for lack of money. 8. It will suit me
best for you to arrive before dinner. 9. It is no use trying to convince her. 10. It will be a pity if we
have to tell her the truth before he gives us permission to. 11. You know it only too well that he will
not marry you. 12. You may take it from me that he is a stinking liar. 13. Rumour has it that U2 will
visit us this year. 14. The pebble in my shoe made it painful to walk. 15. It is nice to meet you. 16. I
found it disgraceful that she hid the truth from me. 17. They considered it very silly of her to have
married Bill. 18. I find it difficult to tell her my thoughts.

3. Comment upon the grammaticality of the following sentences:

1. It bothers me that it is obvious that money means everything. 2. It amazes Bill that it bothers me
that it is obvious that money means everything. 3. It appears that it amazes Bill that it bothers me that
it is obvious that money means everything. 4. That it is obvious that money means everything bothers
me. 5. That it amazes Bill that it is obvious that money means everything bothers me.

4. Which of the following sentences are correct? Does tense influence the validity of
extraposition?

1. I was the one who guessed it that he would come back. 2. I guess it that he will come back. 3. They
never expected it that he would come back. 4. I don’t expect it that he will come back. 5. She was the
woman who ordered it that all men would be executed in public. 6. Are you going to order it that all
men be executed in public?!

5. Read the following, noticing the effect of topicalization within the literary passages below. Is
the phenomenon of topicalization restricted to that complements only? Does it apply to Subject
Clauses exclusively? Find counterarguments in the texts.

1. No wonder Alison had punished her and Matthew thought of her only as an instrument. That she
could still be an instrument might have comforted her once, but not now.
2. That she condemned herself in moral terms brought no consoling spring of vitality and even guilt
gave her no energy. When this is so one is in extremity indeed.
3. Whether this despair made it easier or harder to act, whether it would finally carry her off, mere
chance would decide. She had always been the slave of chance, let it kill her if it would by a
random stroke.
4. This was another era. That he should have sat in his room and penned the letter yesterday, even
today, was inconceivable. Austin had been lost in some ancient cataclysm. He was utterly gone.

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5. His own confusion and misery were so great that he felt unable to cope with Dorina, he felt no
spring of interest in her, he almost felt resentment at seeing her now. To walk by was an
expression of his own despair.
6. Why she had originally left Valmorana she had by now forgotten.
7. To return to Valmorana seemed to her like death. To go back there now would be to climb into her
coffin.
8. That Dorina should have electrocuted herself with an electric wire on a rainy morning in a small
hotel in Bloomsbury made Ludwig feel disgust with himself and the world which was almost
mysterious in its intensity. He did not blame Gracie. He did not think that Dorina had done it on
purpose. The thing was pure chance and yet weighed with a significance of horror which he could
not bear to contemplate. That he had actually seen Dorina on the day that she died and had passed
her by was so nightmarish that he felt he would never be able to tell anybody about it.
(Iris Murdoch – An Accidental Man)

6. Comment on the following sentences from the point of view of the rule of Heavy NP/Clause
Shift:

1. ?Susan burnt the letter (which) she had just written to the last page. / Susan burnt to the last page
the letter she had just written.
2. Susan told her mother that she had just been fired. / ?Susan told that she had just been fired to her
mother.
3. He was informed on Saturday at noon that he was going to be fired. / He was informed that he was
going to be fired Saturday at noon.
4. He appointed prime-minister Mr Hugh, who had just returned from Africa. / ?He appointed Mr
Hugh, who had just returned from Africa, prime-minister. / He appointed Mr Hugh prime-minister,
who had just returned from Africa.
5. They dismissed as unrealistic Mr Hugh’s proposal to build a new hospital. / They dismissed Mr
Hugh’s proposal to build a new hospital as unrealistic.
6. ?I considered to be outrageous what he had done to his wife in front of so many people. / I
considered outrageous what he had done to his wife in front of so many people. / I considered what
he had done to his wife in front of so many people outrageous.
7. *I found for Susan to behave like that in public disgraceful. / *I found disgraceful for Susan to
behave like that in public. / I found it disgraceful for Susan to behave like that in public. / I found
disgraceful Susan’s behaving like that in public. / I found Susan’s behaving like that in public a
disgrace.
8. He sprinkled with water the pavement he had been cleaning. / He sprinkled the pavement he had
been cleaning with water.

7. Which of the following are that-relative clauses and which are complement-clauses?

1. His idea that men are smarter than women led him to total ruin. 2. The idea that he had had earned
him good money. 3. His order that all the men in the village should be killed was instantly disobeyed.
4. The order that he had given was instantly disobeyed. 5. Their proposal that he should run for
Congress was the best ever. 6. The proposal that they came up with was no better than hers.

8. Comment on the distribution and syntactic function of the that complements in the
following sentences:

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1. We discovered that our map has disappeared. 2) Was it true that she was ill? 3) They are not aware
that they are in a dangerous position. 4) The idea that men from Mars were landing was absurd. 6)
John made it clear that he disagreed. 7) The truth is that we haven’t met them. 8) I am afraid that I
have to go now. 9) It struck me that the bus was behaving pretty strangely. 10) She was so careless
that she left the door unlocked. 11) The suggestion was that they should leave at once. 12) He loved
her to such an extent that he could give his life for her. 13) The shock of having been found by Dorina
in Mitzi’s arms first prostrated him with such a sense of uncleanness and shame that he could not face
his wife. (Iris Murdoch, ibid.) 14) It had also produced the certainty that they belonged together and
that, for better or worse, they were chained to each other forever. (Iris Murdoch, ibid.)

9. Delete ‘that’ where possible:

1) I didn’t get the message that they were coming. 2) They chortled that it was only a joke. 3) That
such things still happen is no wonder. 4) I hate it that you won’t be with me. 5) Where would you
guess that he went? (Compare to: *Who did they imagine that wanted to go?) 6) The fact that they
were unprepared leaked out. 7) They maintain, you want me to believe, that they were not too late to
leave. 8) I reminded them that they had to leave.

10. Comment on the auxiliary in the complement clause:

1. a) John heard that Mary is pregnant. b) John heard that Mary was pregnant. c) John said that Harry
is leaving. d) John said that Harry was leaving. e) John said that Harry will leave. f) John said that
Harry would leave. g) John thought that Harry ran. h) John thought that Harry had run.
2. a) John said that Harry was leaving tomorrow. b) John thought that Montreal played Boston
tomorrow. c) *Harry was leaving tomorrow. d) *Montreal played Boston tomorrow. e) Harry is
leaving tomorrow. f) Montreal plays Boston tomorrow.
3. a) It was obvious that everyone would leave if coffee was not provided at the meeting next day. b)
It was objected that people had left the meeting the day before because coffee had not been
provided.
4. a) She thought that Maggie arrived the day before. b) She thought that Maggie had arrived the day
before.
5. I knew that poor Chris believed he was of royal blood.
6. a) John said that his car *has run out of gas. b) John said that his car is out of gas.
7. Look the dipstick shows oil right up to the full mark. But John mumbled that his car was/*is out of
oil.
8. John indicated to Mary that she should go to bed early.
9. a) John told Mary that she should bake a pie. b) *John told Mary that she had baked a pie. c) John
told Mary that she had baked an excellent pie.

11. Translate the following by making use of the information on that-complements:

1. Când m-a văzut a închis albumul, a sărit de pe bancă şi a alergat spre mine. Dar când a ajuns în
faţa mea mi-am dat seama că nu-i pot spune vestea cea mare. Cum îţi explici aceasta? M-am sfiit.
Ştiam că orice cuvinte aş alege acelea n-ar fi putut cuprinde tot ce voiam să-i spun şi nici fericirea
că venise clipa să-i anunţ ce-aveam de anunţat.
2. Mama, peste puţin, s-a dus acasă şi eu am rămas singur să termin desenul. Regretam că m-a lăsat
singur căci presimţeam că mi se va întâmpla ceva neplăcut. Când au văzut că mama a plecat,
băieţii s-au adunat în jurul băncii mele. Îşi ţineau mâinile în buzunare. Unul din ei, cel mai mare,
cred că avea vreo şaptesprezece-optsprezece ani, avea albeaţă la un ochi şi purta un tricou albastru
de marinar. Părul rar îi era plin de mătreaţă.
3. Îl privi uimită şi cu toate că din cauza întunericului nu-i vedea chipul distingea totuşi că tremura şi
nu ştiu dacă să râdă că pentru a-i face o asemenea declaraţie o deşteptase în puterea nopţii, ori să se
teamă de turbarea lui, care îl împinsese la un asemenea gest bizar, neconvenabil şi primejdios.
Totuşi sfârşi prin a se simţi bine la ideea că da atât preţ părerilor sale şi încercă dorinţa tandră de a-
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 l linişti, de a-i arăta că ia prea mult în seamă nişte răutăţi fără consecinţă. Uită ora şi situaţia
scandaloasă.
4. – Totuşi trebuie să ştii, spuse domnul Albu la urechea lui Matei, că nu se vorbeşte atât de mult cu
sora Angelei. Fiind de o idioţie celebră, s-ar putea interpreta că ţi-ai căutat lângă ea un refugiu.
5. Se temu că mărturisirea pe care i-o făcuse el pornea din orgoliu şi regretă susceptibilitatea lui.
Totuşi era curios că el se gândise că, învinuindu-se de lucruri atât de neplăcute, va fi mai interesant
pentru ea.
6. Abia prinse de veste când ea îl părăsi şi nu se întrebă de ce venise, dacă va mai veni. Simplul fapt
că ea fusese acolo îl stăpânea ca o beţie. Se miră, fericit, de ce constată în sine. Toate simţurile i se
ascuţiseră, căpătase deodată puterea de a vedea consistent, luminos şi apropiat şi când, venind de la
avocat, ea, care îl pândise, îi strecură în mână un bilet în care citi că, cel puţin pentru un timp,
trebuie să nu se mai vadă pentru a nu cădea amândoi pradă unei iluzii vulgare ce i-ar putea costa
nespus de mult şi că, ştiind că el nu ar izbuti să se oprească de a o căuta, va pleca din oraş la vie,
pentru o şedere mai îndelungată care le va face bine amândurora, nu înţelese nici de data asta decât
că ea i-a scris, că ţine în mână o hârtie care fusese în mâna ei şi peste care se aplecase gândindu-se
la el.
7. Lui Matei i se păru că mama ştie mai multe despre motivele plecării Dorei la vie însă îi fu cu
neputinţă să o întrebe ce ştie anume.
8. Ultima dată când ne-am văzut aci m-ai speriat pretinzând că nu ai nici o ambiţie pentru viitor. Ştii
că nu-i deloc frumos pentru un tânăr ca tine să nu fie ambiţios, să nu aibă un ideal? Cred că nu mi-
ai spus adevărul.
9. Nu ţi-a trecut, aşa, niciodată prin minte că trebuie să ajungi un Pasteur sau un Alexandru cel Mare,
un vis de acesta nebunesc şi înflăcărat pentru realizarea căruia să-ţi dedici toată viaţa?
10. (…) Matei socoti că e mai înţelept să bată în retragere.
(Radu Petrescu – Matei Iliescu)

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