Should you use that with hope eg I hope that they will come?

Answer 1

You can, but it is not necessary. If you take out the word "that," and the sentence still makes sense, then you don't need it. For example:

She waited all night for a phone call that never came. ---> She waited all night for a phone call never came.

The sentence is clearly incomplete without the word "that."

I knew that she would find some way to manipulate the situation to her own favor.

---> I knew she would find some way to manipulate the situation to her own favor.

The sentence makes perfect sense without the word "that," so, you don't need it. In fact, adding "that" makes the sentence sound too wordy. You always want your sentences to be as concise as possible, which means removing any unnecessary words.

But not all sentences are so clear-cut. For example:

She told me that she'd seen him, but I knew she was lying. ---> She told me she'd seen him, but I knew she was lying.

In this case, you don't really need the word "that," since the sentence still makes sense without it. But the sentence just sounds better with "that" in it.