No. 09 for October 2002
In a recent column, I said the word “that” is not a four-letter word – it has a very useful purpose in much of the writing we do, and we too often delete it.
There are two special times, however, where “that” almost always increases understanding and is correct.
First is “so that.”
For many years, correct usage did not favor “so” as a conjunction. As recently as the early 1980s, “so” was listed as a conjunctive adverb in E.L. Callihan’s classic reference “Grammar for Journalists.” Even some more recent works, such as “Working with Words” by Brian S. Brooks, James L. Pinson and Jean Gaddy Wilson, list “so” among the conjunctive adverbs.
As with other conjunctive adverbs, such as “however,” the advice from Callihan and others was to precede “so” with a semicolon. As a result, the correct use of “so that” to connect one part of a sentence that depended on another was clearer.
As semicolons throw many editors into a tizzy, however, “so” has largely come to be accepted as a coordinate conjunction connecting independent clauses and preceded by a comma. It is weak writing – the use of an introductory phrase using “because” often is stronger – but the major dictionaries now accept this usage, and putting a semicolon in front of “so” would probably get you funny stares, or worse, in many newsrooms.
There is a problem, however, with what are known as clauses of purpose. That’s a fancy way of saying “this had to happen so that could happen.”
Here are examples of incorrect use:
The governor should have
completed the budget, so the Legislature had time to review it, Johnson said.
Robertson said he
resigned, so he could pursue other interests.
The comma-conjunction form signals that both clauses are independent and can be separated by a period. But then we get:
The governor should have
completed the budget. The Legislature had time to review it, Johnson said.
Robertson said he
resigned. He could pursue other interests.
Given what the writer was trying to say, the second parts don’t make sense standing alone. The first pair, in fact, produces the opposite of the writer’s intent – that the Legislature did not have time to review the budget. In the second pair, instead of Robertson saying he could pursue other interests, it can seem as though we are saying it.
Some might suggest just dropping the comma and leaving “so” as a subordinate conjunction, but switching words between coordinate and subordinate uses has its own complications (think about deciding whether to use a comma with “because”). The best solution – one prescribed by Callihan – is to use “so that” to link the clauses of purpose. No comma is needed.
The governor should have
completed the budget so that the Legislature had time to review it, Johnson
said.
Robertson said he
resigned so that he could pursue other interests.
In the second sentence, some editors might insist on “said that” for parallel construction, but I think elliptic writing allows us to skip it in many cases.
Similar problems arise with said, or a similar attributive verb, at the beginning of the sentence. What follows becomes the dependent part of the sentence. Here are some recent problem examples:
The restructuring is
leading many people to believe that the faculty is backing these changes, and
there is general agreement with the proposed restructuring.
Microsoft hopes
professors will use the code in computer-science classes, and students will
modify it in the lab and even suggest improvements.
The sheriff said the pair escaped Monday night, and their brother was suspected of helping.
In the first sentence, the writer wants to say that people believe two things: that the faculty is backing the changes and that there is general agreement. In the second, Microsoft hopes two things: that professors will use the code and that students will modify it.
The third sentence is troublesome because it can seem as though the writer is taking it upon himself or herself to say the brother was a suspect. Again, with a comma and conjunction, we signal the reader mentally to put a period and continue with a second independent thought:
The sheriff said the pair escaped Monday night. Their brother was suspected of helping.
But that breaks the link to the sheriff saying both things. The better solution is:
The sheriff said the pair escaped Monday night and that their brother was suspected of helping.
Again, some editors would say parallel construction requires “said that,” but in many cases elliptic writing does not require it.
This does not pose a problem if the attribution is at the end. Then we can write:
The pair escaped Monday night, and their brother was suspected of helping, the sheriff said.
Doug Fisher, a former AP news editor, teaches journalism
at the University of South Carolina and can be reached at dfisher@sc.edu
or 803-777-3315.