"in practice" vs "that in practice"

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Aries Stagshrine - 14 Jan 2010 22:13 GMT

In a sentence I read, "I understand in practice a department
may ...." How would that be different from writing "I understand that
in practice a department may...."

Is one correct and the other wrong? In the first example is the “that”
simply implied or is there some subtle difference in meaning of which
I am ignorant? To my ear the latter sounds better.

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James Hogg - 14 Jan 2010 22:23 GMT

> In a sentence I read, "I understand in practice a department may
> ...." How would that be different from writing "I understand that in
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> “that” simply implied or is there some subtle difference in meaning
> of which I am ignorant? To my ear the latter sounds better.

There are lots of contexts where "that" can be omitted. In some cases
it may be advisable not to omit the "that" in writing, if it will
prevent ambiguity. In this case you might have to reread the sentence
when you realise that the writer isn't claiming to understand a
department.

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James

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Jerry Friedman - 15 Jan 2010 03:28 GMT

> > In a sentence I read, "I understand in practice a department may
> > ...." How would that be different from writing "I understand that in
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> when you realise that the writer isn't claiming to understand a
> department.

And that it's probably not, "I understand in practice that a
department may..."

--
Jerry Friedman

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010

"in practice" vs "that in practice"