Which statement correctly describes the use of "that" in relative clauses?

Which statement correctly describes the use of "that" in relative clauses?

• A. "That" is used with non-essential clauses.
• B. "That" is used with essential clauses (no commas).
• C. "That" cannot be used after prepositions.
• D. "That" is used only with animate nouns.

Answer: (B)

The important idea here is that that introduces a restrictive, essential clause—one that narrows down exactly which noun we’re talking about. When the clause is essential to identify the noun, we don’t set it off with commas, and that is the form you’d use. For example: The book that I lent you is due today. If you take out the clause, you don’t know which book is being spoken about, so the information is necessary to identify the referent. That describes the statement correctly: it’s about using that for essential clauses, with no comma before the clause. The other options fail because: using which (or a comma) signals a nonessential, extra detail; saying that that cannot be used after a preposition is an overstatement—often you would place the preposition before the relative pronoun (and in formal style you’d avoid that after a preposition by using whom/which or by rephrasing); and that cannot be used only with animate nouns is false, since that can refer to both animate and inanimate nouns (the car that I bought).

The important idea here is that that introduces a restrictive, essential clause—one that narrows down exactly which noun we’re talking about. When the clause is essential to identify the noun, we don’t set it off with commas, and that is the form you’d use. For example: The book that I lent you is due today. If you take out the clause, you don’t know which book is being spoken about, so the information is necessary to identify the referent.

That describes the statement correctly: it’s about using that for essential clauses, with no comma before the clause. The other options fail because: using which (or a comma) signals a nonessential, extra detail; saying that that cannot be used after a preposition is an overstatement—often you would place the preposition before the relative pronoun (and in formal style you’d avoid that after a preposition by using whom/which or by rephrasing); and that cannot be used only with animate nouns is false, since that can refer to both animate and inanimate nouns (the car that I bought).