that
[1] (DEMONSTRATIVE USES)
Please look at category 20 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 pron You use that to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences.
They said you particularly wanted to talk to me. Why was that?..., Some members feared Germany might raise its interest rates on Thursday. That could have set the scene for a confrontation with the US.
That is also a determiner., det
The most important purpose of our Health Care is to support you when making a claim for medical treatment. For that reason the claims procedure is as simple and helpful as possible.
2 det You use that to refer to someone or something already mentioned.
The Commissioners get between £50,000 and £60,000 a year in various allowances. But that amount can soar to £90,000 a year...
3 det When you have been talking about a particular period of time, you use that to indicate that you are still referring to the same period. You use expressions such as that morning or that afternoon to indicate that you are referring to an earlier period of the same day.
The story was published in a Sunday newspaper later that week...
4 pron You use that in expressions such as that of and that which to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it.
FORMAL PRON of n, PRON pron-rel
A recession like that of 1973-74 could put one in ten American companies into bankruptcy...
5 pron You use that in front of words or expressions which express agreement, responses, or reactions to what has just been said.
`She said she'd met you in England.'<emdash10001`That's true.'..., `I've never been to Paris.'<emdash>`That's a pity. You should go one day.'
6 det You use that to introduce a person or thing that you are going to give details or information about.
FORMAL In my case I chose that course which I considered right...
7 det You use that when you are referring to someone or something which is a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them. When there are two or more things near you, that refers to the more distant one.
Look at that guy. He's got red socks..., Where did you get that hat?...
That is also a pronoun., pron
That looks heavy. May I carry it for you?
8 pron You use that when you are identifying someone or asking about their identity.
That's my wife you were talking to..., I answered the phone and this voice went, `Hello? Is that Alison?'
9 det You can use that when you expect the person you are talking to to know what or who you are referring to, without needing to identify the particular person or thing fully.
SPOKEN Did you get that cheque I sent?...
That is also a pronoun., pron
That was a terrible case of blackmail in the paper today...
10 adv If something is notthat bad, funny, or expensive for example, it is not as bad, funny, or expensive as it might be or as has been suggested.
with brd-neg, ADV adj/adv
Not even Gary, he said, was that stupid...
11 adv You can use that to emphasize the degree of a feeling or quality.
INFORMAL ADV adj/adv (emphasis)
(=so)
I would have walked out, I was that angry...
13 You use and all that or and that to refer generally to everything else which is associated with what you have just mentioned.
INFORMAL
♦
and that/and all that phrase cl/group PHR (vagueness)
I'm not a cook myself but I am interested in nutrition and that.
14 You use at that after a statement which modifies or emphasizes what you have just said.
♦
at that phrase n/adj PHR (emphasis)
Success never seems to come but through hard work, often physically demanding work at that...
15 You use that is or that is to say to indicate that you are about to express the same idea more clearly or precisely.
♦
that is/that is to say phrase PHR with cl/group
I am a disappointing, though generally dutiful, student. That is, I do as I'm told...
16 You use that's it to indicate that nothing more needs to be done or that the end has been reached.
♦
that is it phrase V inflects
When he left the office, that was it, the workday was over.
17 You use that's it to express agreement with or approval of what has just been said or done.
♦
that's it convention
(formulae)
(=exactly)
`You got married, right?'<emdash>`Yeah, that's it.'
18 You use just like that to emphasize that something happens or is done immediately or in a very simple way, often without much thought or discussion.
INFORMAL
♦
just like that phrase PHR with cl (emphasis)
Just like that, I was in love...
19 You use that's that to say there is nothing more you can do or say about a particular matter.
SPOKEN
♦
that is that phrase V inflects
`Well, if that's the way you want it,' he replied, tears in his eyes, `I guess that's that.'
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this and that
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this, that and the other
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this