tae808 wrote:
Hi,
I read somewhere that on GMAT, using the word "that" after "but" is always incorrect.
I think it was on
Manhattan GMAT but I cannot find it.
Just wanted to confirm with someone....
Thank you in advance
Dear
tae808,
I'm happy to respond.
This rule doesn't sound reliable or worthwhile to me. The word "
that" has many different meanings. See:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-sente ... s-of-that/Many of the use of the word "
that" could be used correctly after the word "
but."
demonstrative pronoun:
The brains of all mammals have a limbic system, but that of a dinosaur did not. subordinate conjunction:
The president's speech indicated not that the economy is failing, but that he merely was taking preventative economic measures.
demonstrative adjective:
This bowl of soup is hot, but that bowl of soup is cold.
Those three are 100% grammatically correct. Admittedly, it is a bit hard to think of a sentence in which "
that" is used as a relative pronoun and could come directly after the word "
but" --- it's hard to think of any sentence with any relative pronoun (
who,
which, etc.) coming after the word "
but." Perhaps the discussion you are remembering concerned specifically the use of "
that" as a relative pronoun?
Mike
I have a query. In the first example, is 'that' referring to brains(plural) ? Can 'that' refer to plural nouns when used as demonstrative pronoun?