determiner , pronoun , conjunction , adverb
■ determiner / ðæt; NAmE / ( pl. those / ðəʊz; NAmE ðoʊz/)
1.
used for referring to a person or thing that is not near the speaker or as near to the speaker as another :
Look at that man over there.
How much are those apples at the back?
2.
used for referring to sb/sth that has already been mentioned or is already known about :
I was living with my parents at that time.
That incident changed their lives.
Have you forgotten about that money I lent you last week?
That dress of hers is too short.
■ pronoun /ðæt/ ( pl. those /ðəʊz; NAmE ðoʊz/)
1.
used for referring to a person or thing that is not near the speaker, or not as near to the speaker as another :
Who's that?
That's Peter over there.
Hello. Is that Jo?
That's a nice dress.
Those look riper than these.
2.
used for referring to sb/sth that has already been mentioned, or is already known about :
What can I do about that?
Do you remember when we went to Norway? That was a good trip.
That's exactly what I think.
3.
( formal ) used for referring to people or things of a particular type :
Those present were in favour of change.
There are those who say (= some people say) she should not have got the job.
Salaries are higher here than those in my country.
4.
/ðət; rare strong form ðæt/ ( pl. that ) used as a relative pronoun to introduce a part of a sentence which refers to the person, thing or time you have been talking about :
Where's the letter that came yesterday?
Who was it that won the US Open?
The watch (that) you gave me keeps perfect time.
The people (that) I spoke to were very helpful.
It's the best novel (that) I've ever read.
We moved here the year (that) my mother died.
HELP NOTE : In spoken and informal written English that is nearly always left out when it is the object of the verb or is used with a preposition.
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IDIOMS
- and (all) that
- that is (to say)
- that's it
- that's that
■ conjunction / ðət; rare strong form ðæt/
1.
used after some verbs, adjectives and nouns to introduce a new part of the sentence :
She said (that) the story was true.
It's possible (that) he has not received the letter.
The fact (that) he's older than me is not relevant.
HELP NOTE : In spoken and informal written English that is usually left out after reporting verbs and adjectives. It is less often left out after nouns.
2.
so ... that ... used to express a result :
She was so tired (that) she couldn't think straight.
HELP NOTE : In informal English that is often left out.
3.
( literary ) used for expressing a hope or a wish :
Oh that I could see him again!
■ adverb /ðæt/
1.
used when saying how much or showing how long, big, etc. sth is with your hands :
I can't walk that far (= as far as that) .
It's about that long.
2.
not (all) ~ not very, or not as much as has been said :
It isn't all that cold.
There aren't that many people here.
3.
( BrE , informal ) used to emphasize how much :
I was that scared I didn't know what to do.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English thæt , nominative and accusative singular neuter of se the , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dat and German das .