Difference between “that" and "the fact that"

Question

Is there any diffrence between sentences below?

1) It turned out that he lied all along.

2) The fact that he lied all along turned out.

Also:

3) It doesn’t interest me that he came late.

4) The fact that he came late doesn’t interest me.

Answer 1

First of all, your comparative sentences are constructed differently, which can also change their meaning in ways other than can just adding a fact phrase.

In order for everything to be equal, they should be rephrased so that they are as close to identical as possible, aside from the one difference you have in mind:

It turned out that he lied all along.
It turned out to be a fact that he lied all along.

It doesn't interest me that he came late.
It doesn't interest me that it's a fact he came late.

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When using the phrase a fact, you are putting more emphasis on something being real rather than fictional than you are on the thing being described.

This applies to both comparisons, but is more evident in the second.

It doesn't interest me that he came late.

This could mean that you don't care if he came late or early.

It doesn't interest me that it's a fact he came late.

This could mean that you're talking about your interest in the truth-value of a statement rather than the event itself. In other words:

It doesn't interest me if the statement of his having come late is true or not.

In this case, you're more interested in the validity of the thing. Somebody who wasn't friends with the person (and didn't care if they came at all, late or not) would probably use the version of the sentence without a fact. On the other hand, a police officer, not making a value judgment but simply wanting the actual facts about something, would be more likely to use the version of the sentence with a fact—even though, in this sentence, it seems they're more interested in the facts about something else.

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To make my initial point about using identically phrased sentences aside from using a fact phrase, consider the following.

Both of these provide an objective statement:

It doesn't interest me that he came late.
It doesn't interest me that it's a fact he came late.

Both of these can suggest some level of negative emotion (dismissal, sarcasm, or irritation):

That he came late doesn't interest me.
The fact that he came late doesn't interest me.

In putting interest me at the end of the sentence rather than the beginning, it gives the speaker a kind of upset emotional tone. And this emotional tone exists even when fact isn't used at all. So analyzing the existence of fact as causing this tone is misleading. It's not the phrase itself that provides the tone, it's the ordering of the sentence.

Answer 2

It turned out that he lied all along.

The fact that he lied all along turned out.

The second sentence doesn't really make any sense. The best way I can think to explain why is that the "it" in "it turned out" is not really referring to the fact that was "turned out", it refers more to the idea of an overall story or narrative. The story is turning something out, revealing it as truth. It's very common to hear the phrase "it turned out" in the context of gossip.

You often hear storytellers/gossipers using "as it turned out" in the middle of a story (or maybe a "chapter", so to speak), and then "it turned out" at its conclusion:

... As it turned out, I was in the area, and, as it turned out, so was he. I called him to see if he had time to catch up over a coffee, but it turned out he had meetings all afternoon, so we decided to just catch up another time.

(I've overused this phrasing in the above, to illustrate the point.)

"As it turned out" suggests the story is still unfolding/"turning out", but then "it turned out" lets us know the story is complete/fully "turned out".

The most likely way your sentence would be said would be something like:

It turned out that he had been lying all along.

It turned out that he had lied all along.

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It doesn’t interest me that he came late.

The fact that he came late doesn’t interest me.

Both are sound.

Using "the fact" is usually done for emphasis, and would often be used to bolster or draw attention to the significance of another fact or some inferred meaning:

The fact that he came late doesn’t interest me - the real issue here is that he didn't apologise!

The fact that he scored full marks on his test just goes to show how much potential he has.

The first sentence would be more likely to be used in supportive scenarios:

It doesn’t interest me that he came late, what matters is that he's here now.

Notice that this phrase, "doesn't interest me", at least in this context, would usually be followed up with some clarification of meaning.

Answer 3

From the first glance, I would say there is big difference in what is emphasized in the sentence. The overall meaning seems equal to me since the same information is communicated. The emphasis is however put either on that fact that you talk about or the reaction/outcome.

So depending on what I want to achieve saying these, I would choose the version. If I am angry that the person was late and I want to complain to somebody, I would go for "The fact that he came late doesn’t interest me." than the other version. It is pointing to person being late more than to me being uninterested.