By Dialects, Relative pronouns

I have trouble figuring out why 'grammar experts' get the blame for these. There are a number of reasons why people might disagree over these usages: colloquial vs written, American vs British, PC vs non-PC, prescriptivism vs descriptivism, and even one or two examples where there are...

In formal English, it is a rule not to omit 'that' when it stands as the subject in the sub-clause. In the case 'that' stands as an object in the sub-clause, it is more natural to omit 'that'. JTT: I don't think it makes a difference for formal or any English, Paco. In all English, and all...

I sympathize with Jeff. When I was learning English--that's decades ago--I read a grammar book delineating the same rule as Jeff brought up. As years passed, I realized that's a rather weird rule. I checked it with native speakers, they said in unison to the effect that I should forget the...