continuationthat

Continuationthat is a term used in linguistics and discourse studies to describe a proposed cross-sentential device that uses a that-clause to continue or elaborate an earlier proposition across sentence boundaries. The concept treats certain that-clauses as functioning not only to grammatically complete a clause but to extend the speaker's commitment or the narrative trajectory into subsequent sentences, thereby contributing to cohesion.

In theory, continuationthat differs from ordinary complement clauses in purpose and discourse function: it explicitly signals continuation of the line of thought, rather than simply reporting content. The device is discussed within studies of cohesion, argument structure, and connective usage, and is often explored in corpus analyses to identify patterns of cross-sentential continuation. Researchers might examine how continuationthat interacts with emphasis, stance, and thus the perceived coherence of a discourse.

Reception and status: Continuationthat remains a contested label rather than a widely standardized category. Some linguists view it as a descriptive convenience for observing a recurring discourse pattern, while others argue it lacks sufficient diagnostic criteria to warrant a distinct grammatical class. It is primarily of interest to analyses of discourse coherence and the function of that-clauses beyond strict syntax. More empirical work is needed to establish its prevalence, boundaries, and practical utility in analysis.

See also: discourse coherence, complementizer that, connectives, cross-sentential discourse, discourse markers.