”That"が消えるミステリー
タイトルだけで、今日はミステリー小説？なんて思われた方が入るかも！？
今日も文法です！！！
前回お約束した、that -節 の続きです。
2016年と古い記事をを引っ張り出してきました。
早速、謎？に迫りましょう(^^♪
今回のVOAeveryday grammar、”That-clause"！！！
消える "That" の謎
The Mystery of the Disappearing "That"
December 15, 2016
今日は、気ままに現れては消えていくような不思議な英語の単語を探っていきます!
何を意味しているのか気になる方は、これらの例を考えてみてください。一つはアメリカの名作映画 Casablanca（カサブランカ）から。2つ目は、人気音楽グループ Plan B からです。
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" -- Casablanca
"Now we don't talk and it's a shame,
I guess I only have myself to blame,
Cos girl you meant so much to me"
-- Plan B
"これが素敵な友情の始まりだと思うんだ" -- カサブランカより
"今は話すこともないし、残念なことになってしまった。
自分を責めるのは自分だけだと思います。
君は僕にとってとても大切な存在だ"
-- Plan Bより
どちらのクリップにも共通しているのは、"that "という言葉を省いていることです。
カサブランカの主役Humphrey Bogartハンフリー・ボガートはなぜ"I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendshipと言わなかったのか？
Plan Bはなぜ "I guess that I only have myself to blame"と歌わなかったのか？
今日のEveryday Grammarでは、英語を話す人が文章からthatという単語を省く理由とタイミングを探っていきます。
That in a noun clause 名詞節の中のthat
that という単語は、英語ではいくつかの意味を持つことができる単語です。
時には "That man is very nice!" という文のように、対象物や人を示すために使われることもあります。
他には、that という単語は、文の第二節を導入するために使われることもあります。"英文法は難しいと思う！"*（☟末尾参照）という声が聞こえてくるかもしれません。
英語学習者を混乱させることが多いのは、この that の使い方です。
今日は、名詞の節の中の that という単語について勉強します。節とは、主語と述語を持つ単語群のことです。言い換えれば、それだけで文として自立することができます。単語の集まりが完全な文になりうる場合、それを独立節と呼びます。
"I love English grammar "や "I hate English grammar "は、完全文として機能する独立節の例です。
しかし、ある節が文中の他の節に依存することもあります。文として自立することはできません。このような場合、その節は従属節であると言います。
従属節のタイプの一つに that-節があります。これは文の中で名詞として機能します。think, say, or guess などの一般的な動詞や、like believe, admit, remindなどのように、これらの動詞の同義語であるすべての動詞に続くことが多いのです。
例を挙げてみましょう：
I think that learning English is fun.
この文では、主節は "I think" となっており、that-clause は主節についてより多くの情報を与えています。
このようなタイプの節 – つまり主節についてより多くの情報を与える節では、英語を話す人はしばしば that という単語を省略してしまいます。
このような文からthatという単語を削除する理由の一つは、thatという単語がほとんど情報を与えないからです。**（☟末尾参照）
つまり、会話の中では、"I think that learning English is fun "よりも "I think learning English is fun "の方が聞き取りやすいということなのです。
では、どうすればいいのでしょうか？
that-clauseからthat という単語をいつ省略するかというルールはありません。文体上の選択です。
コンラッド氏とバイバー氏は英文法の専門家です。彼らによると、文中のthat という単語を省略する際には、3つの一般的な特徴があるそうです。
特徴＃1 主節の動詞が "say" or "think"
1つ目の特徴は、主節に動詞のsayやthinkがついていることです。そのため、話者が ‘I think’ or ‘he thought’ または 'say,' で文を始めると、thatという単語が出てくることが少なくなります。
この説明は、有名な映画 カサブランカ の中で、ハンフリー・ボガートが"I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."ではなく"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"と言った理由を説明しています。
特徴＃2 that節の主語が主節と同じ
that を省いた文章の2つ目の特徴は、that-節 の主語が主節と同じである場合です。
この説明は、Plan B が "I guess that I only have myself to blame "ではなく "I guess I only only have myself to blame "と歌ったのがその理由であるとしています。主節の主語である I, は、that-節の主語である I と同じです。
特徴#3 that-節の主語が人称代名詞
thatを省いた文章の特徴の3つ目は：that-節の主語が人称代名詞になっているということです。
先生が "I knew he didn't do his homework," と言うのを聞いたことがあるかもしれません。
例に挙げてみましょう。主節の主語は I（私）で、that-節の主語は人称代名詞の he です。
文章を書くときに "That" が出てくる可能性が高くなる
これらの特徴はすべて、ライティングではあまり一般的ではありません。
完全なthat-節は、小説や新聞で見かける可能性が高く、学術的な文章で見かける可能性が高いです。会話の中で聞くことはほとんどありません。
このような言語の特徴を学ぶのは難しいかもしれません。しかし、時間をかけて練習すれば、ネイティブスピーカーがどのようにして言語の一部を省いているのかが分かるようになります。
また、–that のような–文の中に置き去りにされていることがあることを理解することは、英語をよりよく読み、理解することにも役立ちます。
*We are not discussing relative clauses with "that" in this story.
** In these types of sentences, "that" is acting as an expletive.
See comments (21)
すでに締め切られています
Mamen 12/30/2016 4:14 PM
エピソード”Do/Does You Understand Subject-Verb Agreement?"「主語ー動詞の一致を理解していますか」では、言語定義は常用複数形として分類されていましたが、エピソード "Understanding Noncount Nouns"「不可算名詞の理解」では単数形の不可算名詞として分類されていました。どちらが正しいのか明確にしていただけないでしょうか？このフォーラムを利用して申し訳ありませんが、以前のエピソードのフォーラムは閉鎖されています。
（どうも科目が主語の場合の動詞の形のようですねぇ）しかし、驚くことにVOAのAlice Bryant さんが質問に翌日答えていることです。
Alice Bryant (Washington, D.C. ) 12/21/2016 2:59 PM Moderator
Hello Cris, thanks for writing to us! Your question is very good. The
simplest explanation is that some academic subjects end with the letter
"s. " However, in speaking and writing, we treat them as if they are s
ingular nouns. That means we use the singular form of verbs after these
nouns. The academic subjects include physics, mathematics, economics,
and a few others. Here are some examples: "Economics is my favorite
class"; "Mathematics frustrates my son." The verbs that come after the
subjects in those sentences are singular ("is" and "frustrates"). Even when
academic subjects do not end in "s," we still treat them as singular nouns
when we we speak or write about them. For example, we would say,
"Chemistry involves a lot of experiments." ("Involves" is the singular form
of the verb.) I hope this helps!
クリスさん、書き込みありがとうございます。ご質問の内容はとても良いですね。簡単に説明すると "s "で終わる学問科目があるからです。ですが、話したり書いたりするときには、あたかも単数名詞であるかのように扱います。つまり、これらの名詞の後に動詞の単数形を使うということです。学問科目はphysics, mathematics, economics,物理学、数学、経済学などを含みます。その一例をご紹介します。"Economics is my favorite class"; "Mathematics frustrates my son." これらの文章で主語の後に来る動詞は単数形（「is」と「flurstrates」）です。学問科目が「s」で終わらないものであっても、それらについて話すときや書くときには単数名詞として扱います。例えば 私たちはこう言います "Chemistry involves a lot of experiments." ( "Involves" は動詞の単数形です) これが役に立つといいですね!
Cris 12/22/2016 11:09 AM
Hi, Alice! Thank you very much for this explanation and for this wonderful program.
Md Ibrahim Sajjad 12/20/2016 10:41 AM
I found your initiative very helpful to learn English language and English grammar. I am so sorry that I become to know about this highly useful site of learning English.
I am basically an English teacher and therefore I am always in search of sites presenting easy ways to help learn English.
thanking you both
Yours faithfully
Md Ibrahim Sajjad
Jamia Imam Ibn Taimia
Chandanbara, East Champaran, Bihar, India
英語学習で世界とつながる。英語が国語であっても悩むことはある、ってことだけでも励みになります！！
The Mystery of the Disappearing "That"
everyday grammar
Today, we are going to explore a mysterious word in English that seems to appear and disappear at will!
If you are wondering what we mean, consider these examples. One is from a classic American film Casablanca. The second is from the popular music group Plan B.
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" -- Casablanca
"Now we don't talk and it's a shame,
I guess I only have myself to blame,
Cos girl you meant so much to me"
-- Plan B
Both of these clips have something in common: they leave out the word "that."
Why did Humphrey Bogart, the main actor in Casablanca, not say, "I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"?
Why did Plan B not sing, "I guess that I only have myself to blame"?
In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore why and when English speakers leave out the word that from a sentence.
That in a noun clause
The word that can have several meanings in the English language.
Sometimes, it can be used to indicate an object or a person, as in the sentence "That man is very nice!"
Other times, the word that is used to introduce a second clause to a sentence. You might hear someone say, "I think that English grammar is difficult!"*
It is this use of that that often confuses English language learners.
Today, we are studying the word that in a noun clause. A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate. In other words, it could stand on its own as a sentence. When a group of words could be a complete sentence, we call it an independent clause.
"I love English grammar" or "I hate English grammar" are two examples of independent clauses that function as complete sentences.
However, sometimes a clause depends on other clauses in a sentence. It cannot stand on its own as a sentence. When this is the case, we say that the clause is dependent.
One type of dependent clause is the that-clause. It acts as a noun in the sentence. It often follows common verbs like think, say, or guess, and all of the verbs that are synonyms of these verbs, like believe, admit, remind, and so on.
Here is an example:
I think that learning English is fun.
In the sentence, the main clause is "I think" and the that-clause gives more information about the main clause.
It is in these types of clauses – clauses that give more information about the main clause - that English speakers often leave out the word that.
One reason that they drop the word that from these sentences is because the word that adds little information.**
So, in a conversation, you are more likely to hear "I think learning English is fun" than "I think that learning English is fun."
What can you do?
There is not really a rule about when to leave out the word that from a that-clause. It is a stylistic choice.
Conrad and Biber are two English grammar experts. They say there are three general characteristics that usually go along with leaving out the word that from a sentence.
Characteristic #1 The verb in the main clause is "say" or "think"
The first characteristic is that the main clause has the verb say or think. So, when a speaker begins a sentence with ‘I think’ or ‘he thought’ or some other use of 'say,' you are less likely to hear the word that.
This explanation tells you why Humphrey Bogart, in the famous film Casablanca, said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" instead of "I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Characteristic #2 Subject of that-clause is the same as the main clause
The second characteristic of sentences that leave out that is: the subject of the that-clause is the same as the main clause.
This explanation tells you why Plan B sang "I guess I only have myself to blame" instead of "I guess that I only have myself to blame." The subject of the main clause, I, is the same as the subject of the that-clause, I.
Characteristic #3 Subject of that-clause is a personal pronoun
The third characteristic of sentences that leave out that is as follows: the subject of the that-clause is a personal pronoun.
You might hear a teacher say, "I knew he didn't do his homework,"
for example. The subject of the main clause is I, and the subject of the that-clause is the personal pronoun, he.
You Are More Likely to See "That" in Writing
All of these characteristics are less common in writing.
You are more likely to find a complete that-clause in fiction and newspapers, and most likely to find it in academic writing. You are least likely to hear it in conversation.
These characteristics of language can be difficult to learn. However, with time and practice, you will begin to recognize how native speakers leave out parts of the language.
Understanding that words – such as that – are sometimes left out of a sentence will also help you read and understand English better.
*We are not discussing relative clauses with "that" in this story.
** In these types of sentences, "that" is acting as an expletive.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
clause – n. a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb
predicate – n. grammar the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject
function – v. to have a specified function, role, or purpose
dependent clause – n. grammar a clause that does not form a simple sentence by itself and that is connected to the main clause of a sentence
drop – v. to not include (someone or something)
characteristic – n. a special quality or trait that makes a person, thing, or group different from others
oh yes this is really good
Wieu Gau 12/27/2016 8:20 PM
l have really enjoyed today's program.
面白いコメント発見！！
Cris 12/20/2016 4:47 PM
In the episode "Do/Does You Understand Subject-Verb Agreement?" the word Physics was classified as a always-plural word. In the episode "Understanding Noncount Nouns", however, it was classified as a singular noncount noun. Could you please clarify which is the correct? Sorry for using this forum but those of previously episodes has been closed.Thank you very much!