3

Today humanity is in the richest state that it has ever been in.

Do you consider that correct here? Can it be substituted with than?

I think that would be wrong, but logically it fits in here. I can't spot an entry in a dictionary which conveys the meaning which that conveys in my sentence.

Improve this question
2
  • This should probably be retagged, since "that" isn't being used as a pronoun here.
    – MJD
    Commented Sep 27, 2023 at 16:35
  • Potentially helpful for you in the future -- the Google search define:that summarizes a bunch of info from dictionaries, and includes the relevant definition in under the fourth form (conjunction): "introducing a subordinate clause expressing a statement or hypothesis". I use that search operator all the time.
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Sep 27, 2023 at 20:28

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
10

No, you cannot switch 'that' to 'than' in this example. We use 'than' in comparisons with a comparative adjective, such as richer:

Today, humanity is in a richer state than it has ever been in.

Your example uses the superlative, 'richest', so there is no comparison required - the superlative is greater than all others.

We use 'that' to introduce a defining clause - one that adds further, essential information - although it can be omitted and the sentence is still grammatically correct.

  • Today, humanity is in the richest state that it has ever been in.
  • Today, humanity is in the richest state it has ever been in.
Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    Isn't 'that' a conjunction here, not a determiner?
    – MJD
    Commented Sep 26, 2023 at 18:33
  • 3
    That is absolutely not a determiner here. It is a subordinator (more specifically a complementiser), the historical term for which would indeed be a subordinating conjunction. It initiates a relative clause and could also be replaced by a relative pronoun (which), with optional prepositional fronting (“richest state it has ever been in” → “richest state in which it has ever been”).
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Sep 27, 2023 at 0:35
  • 1
    @Astralbee The criterion of a "clause standing on its own" is generally used to distinguish a "clause" from a "phrase". It's not referring to context. A clause only needs a subject and a verb that agrees with it. "It has ever been in" is absolutely a clause. The only reason it seems like it doesn't stand alone is because of the adverb "ever". But modifiers to either the subject or verb never preclude a sentence structure from being a clause.
    – PC Luddite
    Commented Sep 27, 2023 at 3:36
  • 2
    @Astralbee further, it cannot be a determiner because a determiner by definition is either an adjective or pronoun. In the example, it neither modifies "state" nor "it", so it's not an adjective. It is also not acting as a subject or object in any phrase or clause, so it's not a pronoun. It is a conjunction joining an independent and dependent clause.
    – PC Luddite
    Commented Sep 27, 2023 at 3:45
9

Today humanity is in the richest state that it has ever been in.

That could be rewritten to illuminate the role that plays:

Today humanity is in the richest state in which it has ever been.

that it has ever been in is a clause modifying the noun-phrase the richest state which is the object of preposition in.

that serves two roles there: it functions as the clause subordinator and serves as the proxy for state in the clause.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .