that

Hello,

Can I use ‘that’ after ‘film’ in the following sentence?

  • That’s the most boring film (that) I’ve ever seen.

Thank you very much.

IMHO:

(1) You are absolutely, 100% correct. Congratulations!

(2) The second “that” is a relative pronoun. It has that name because it is a pronoun and because it “relates” to the word(s) in front of it. As you can see, the words in front of it are “the most boring film.” In other words, “that” is a substitute for those words. In your sentence, the second “that” is the object of the verb “have seen.” (I have seen the most boring film.)

(3) Your sentence really means: That’s the most boring film the most boring film I have ever seen. OF COURSE, it is not good English to say “the most boring film” two times, so English speakers delete (erase) the second “the most boring film” and use “that” as a substitute.

(4) Since you are a learner, I respectfully suggest that you use the relative pronoun when you speak and write English:

(a) That was the best movie that I have ever seen.
(b) This is the book that I told you about.
(c) The English helpline that I visit is “English-Test.net.”

Thank you for your time and attention.

You are very welcome.