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I'm always uncertain whether or not I should use "the" and "that" in the following cases:

There is no guarantee (that) measurement values are the cause of . . .

and

Which will lead to (the) correct evaluation of the measure . . .

Yes or no?

Jimi Oke
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John Assymptoth
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  • Brevity is the soul of wit - wit meaning "intelligence", not necessarily with comic overtones. I'd leave such words out in "formal" contexts like this where they're not grammatically or semantically required. At best all they add is possible cadence. – FumbleFingers Mar 26 '11 at 15:17
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    The first half of the question is a duplicate of Use of “that” in a sentence. I'd suggest that we focus on the second half here. – RegDwigнt Mar 26 '11 at 17:38

1 Answers1

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You only need the demonstrative pronoun or the definite article in cases where meaning is unclear or you want to provide extra emphasis.

Robusto
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  • Does that mean I shouldn't use them, but can? – John Assymptoth Mar 26 '11 at 12:06
  • It means it's at least partly a matter of style whether to use them or not. If you can leave them out without making the meaning unclear, do so. If leaving them out makes the sentence unclear or awkward, keep them in. – Robusto Mar 26 '11 at 12:08
  • Isn't there a more correct usage than the other? – John Assymptoth Mar 26 '11 at 12:10
  • In the first case ("that") you may leave it in if you want to err on the side of formal correctness. In the second case ("the") you really have to make the choice yourself. The indefinite article ("a") might be more appropriate, and leaving the article out altogether could relieve you of having to choose between definite and indefinite. – Robusto Mar 26 '11 at 12:13
  • I see. By the way, what does "to err" mean? – John Assymptoth Mar 26 '11 at 12:20
  • It means "to make a mistake" or "cause an error" or "stray from a correct path." – Robusto Mar 26 '11 at 12:21