関係代名詞の使い方, part 4: "that"

I've been talking about relative pronouns. Here's the list of post:

http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/07/no.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/07/part-2.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/07/part-3.html

Last time, I told you to break this sentence into two sentences. Here's the answer:

Of course, I'm always ready to answer any questions which you would like to ask.

• You would like to ask some questions.
• Of course, I'm always ready to answer those questions.

For speaking, probably the most useful relative pronoun is "that". You can use it for people, places, things, times -- basically any noun or noun phrase.

• The chef that I met the other day at the Sri Lankan restaurant was a vegetarian.
• The country that I lived in before Japan was Taiwan.
• The food that I ate there was great.
• The time that I spent there made me fall in love with Taiwanese food.
• The buckwheat noodles in the bowl in front of me that I'm eating now were made just a few minutes ago.

Still, there are some times not to use "that".

Don't use "that" to describe a pronoun; in fact, don't use any relative pronoun to describe a pronoun.

× It that I'm eating was made a few minutes ago.
○ The noodles that I'm eating were made a few minutes ago.
○ What I'm eating was made a few minutes ago. <- we'll talk about "what" in a few days.

Don't use "that" after a comma.

× This peach, that I cut up after taking this picture, was delicious.
○ This peach, which I cut up after taking this picture, was delicious. <- we'll talk about the reason for using a comma later, too

I hope that you are enjoying peaches this summer. More on relative pronouns soon!