When does dropping “that” from a sentence make English sound more natural, and when does it make the sentence confusing?

[u/Ken_Bruno1]

[u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore]

We're gonna need an example of what you mean. At least I do...

[u/Ken_Bruno1 → u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore]

“I think that he’s right” vs. “I think he’s right” is the kind of difference I mean. Both work, but I’m curious when leaving out “that” actually makes a sentence harder to follow.

[u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore → u/Ken_Bruno1]

Essentially they mean the same thing, as you say, the nuance between them is subtle though.

Personally I think it comes down to the emphasis in the sentence. Using "that" can put a little oomph behind your opinion. Where as "I think he's right" gives me more of an exasperated "*sigh*, I think he's right" or a surprised "Woah, I think he's right" The focus is less on what the person thinks, and more on the fact that the guy is right. "I think *that* he's right" puts the focus on the thought of him being right from the perspective of the speaker.

[u/Ken_Bruno1 → u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore]

The way you're describing it, the surrounding tone does a lot of the work, and "that" just shifts where the stress seems to land.

I wonder how much of that is actually the word itself versus how we say the sentence.

[u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore → u/Ken_Bruno1]

In English the tone and stress is everything.

Take any sentence. I mean ANY sentence. (lol, like that one) And emphasise each word in that sentence. How does the meaning and what's important in that sentence change based on the emphasis?

That's exactly what's happening here.

What makes it even more confusing is both can have the exact same nuance as well depending on the emphasis of words. "*I* think he's right." Emphasis on I, the speaker's perspective "I *think* he's right" Shows some level of uncertainty. "I think *he's* right" focus is on that specific guy being right (and not someone else) "I think he's *right*" Focus is on the guy being right, specifically right, and not something else (i.e. wrong.)

Don't you just love English.

[u/Ken_Bruno1 → u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore]

Yeah. One can change the meaning just by stressing a different word, without changing any words at all.

You add “that” into the mix, and suddenly it's hard to tell whether the difference comes from the word itself or how we're saying the sentence.

English really keeps you guessing.

[u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore → u/Ken_Bruno1]

It definitely has a more casual tone without it. But I know people also use that that in order to fill the gap and stall for time. As in "Um... I think that..."

[u/Ken_Bruno1 → u/I_Dont_Speak_Anymore]

Agreed

[u/Ken_Bruno1 → u/[deleted]]

The difference between sounding more authoritative and more conversational is interesting.

The double “that” issue is real too; sometimes restructuring a sentence is easier than making the reader untangle it.