'And' vs 'That'

[Tom]

[Yankee]

.
Yes, that would be possible, Tom.

His presence of mind deserted him
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic5637.html
.

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

By adding 'that' you indicate his presence of mind deserted him as a result of being upset.

A
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English as a Second Language
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[Prezbucky]

This is really picky -- and I know that Alan would not do this -- but I would surround "for the first time in his life" with commas, yielding the following:

Brian got so upset and (that), for the first time in his life, his presence of mind deserted him.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Alan]

Hi Prezbucky,

I think 'picky' is the name of the game at the moment, I've noticed. Answers I gave over 2 years ago sometimes 3 years ago are being resurrected and dissected and analysed and criticized and given alternatives for and suggested improvements for and - well enough said. In the words of the government I've been languishing under for some 10 years and goodness knows they need to - let's move on.

A
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[Prezbucky]

I figured I'd get your goat. hehe
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Alan]

Hi,

It's always a good idea to separate the sheep from the goats!

A
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[Prezbucky]

...the rams from the lambs!

hehe
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Alan]

The he he from the ho ho

A
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English as a Foreign Language
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[Pamela]

[Prezbucky]

Hey, Alan, don't knock Santa! That's my daddy you're talkin' about!
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.