That + [Infinitive]?

Question

Hello, I was studying for the idioms on the GMAT and this is what magoosh told me?

1) People believe the disturbances in transmissions to be a result of solar flares. (correct)

2) People believe that the disturbances in transmissions to be a result of solar flares. (incorrect)

The verb "believe" can take a "that" clause or an infinitive, but if a "that" clause is used, it must be followed by a bonafide   +   pair. The construction "that" +   is always grammatically incorrect.

What are the rules for that +  ? it says its always grammatically incorrect but I feel like many times it may not be. (Such as "that is to be")
Is it really always wrong? and if so what if they are in different clauses but in the same sentence. I guess my question is how far does that +   being always wrong go?

Thanks,

Oscar

AndrewN · Answer

Hello, Oscar, and welcome to GMAT Club. Notice how, in the sentences you reproduced above, a subject is named between  that  and the infinitive in question. Therein lies the contextual difference between a correct and an incorrect usage of  that  + infinitive. If you deconstruct the embedded  that  clause, you can expose the imposter. That is, you would not say,  The disturbances... to be a result.  No, it should be  the disturbances...  are  a result  instead. In a different context, it would be entirely appropriate to use an infinitive with  that  to serve as the object of the main clause, answering the  what  of the sentence:

Many New Hampshirites, if you are to trust their motto, believe that to surrender one's rights is to die.

In this case, the infinitive acts as the subject of the embedded clause; in the earlier example,  disturbances  served in that capacity instead. Be careful when looking to create absolute rules. They rarely work out the way you hope they will. It is much more useful to adapt your knowledge to the question at hand and look for the best choice among the five presented.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

monikakumar · Answer

Hi,

Thats very well explained. This cleared few of my concepts that confused me.

Thanks.

SohGMAT2020 · Answer

Nice explanation above! You have to remember that when you use "that" to introduce a clause, you have to make sure that there is a "verb and noun" pair in the sentence. In your posted example there is no verb. Hence it is wrong

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That + [Infinitive]?

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