the fact的基本意思是“事实”，请看例句：

The fact is that he doesn’t really try. 事实是他没有做真正的努力。

He felt it his duty to mention the fact to her. 他感到有责任向她提及此事。

If he had known the facts, he could have told us what to do. 如果他了解情况他就会告诉我们该怎么办了。

除以上本义用法外，the fact还有三种非常有用的语法功能，正确理解其意思和熟练常握其用法不仅对于理解阅读理解中的难句会有直接的帮助，而且还会有助于我们在写作中创造性地写出一些令人耳目一新的“高级结构”。

一、用于避免句子结构“头轻脚重”

在许多情况下，当语义上需要用一个较复杂的that从句用主语时，若直接将其置于句首位置，则会显得“头轻脚重”。这时，我们通常采用的办法便是使用形式主语it来改变句子结构。如：

That he had no girl friends worried his parents a lot.= It worried his parents a lot that he had no girl friends. 他没有女朋友，这件事使他父母非常不安。

That he has fully recovered makes me feel good.=It makes me feel good that he has fully recovered. 他已痊愈，真令我高兴。

That he had not said anything surprised everybody.=It surprised everybody that he had not said anything. 他一言不发，这使大家很吃惊。

用形式主语改变句子结构是许多同学都可能想得到的方式，属通常思维，乃常规表达。但如果借助the fact这一辅助手段，按以下方式改写句子，则会给人以耳目一新的感觉，许多阅卷老师会将其划入“高级结构”的范畴。如：

The fact that he had no girl friends worried his parents a lot.

The fact that he has fully recovered makes me feel good.

The fact that he had not said anything surprised everybody.

二、引出一个结构作介词宾语

按英语习惯，介词后面通常不能直接跟一个that从句作宾语，遇此情况，一个高明的做法是，在that从句前使用the fact。这样一来，就变成了the fact用作介词的宾语，而其后的that从句则成了the fact的同位语从句。如：

They were worried over the fact that you were sick. 他们为你生病发愁。

I didn’t go out because of the fact that it was raining. 因为在下雨，所以我没出去。

Were it not for the fact that you helped me, I would be homeless. 若非你的帮助，我仍会无家可归。

He must face up to the fact that he is no longer young. 他必须勇于正视自己不再年轻这一事实。

It’s time you woke up to the fact that you’re not very popular. 你早就该明白你不怎么受欢迎了。

The judge paid a lot of attention to the fact that the child was unhappy at home. 法官非常注意这一情况，即孩子在家里并不快乐。

He said the parents were responsible for the fact that the child had run away. 他说孩子父母应对孩子逃跑一事负责。

注：英语中只有极个别介词(如except等)可直接跟that从句。如：

The two books are the same except that this one has an answer key at the back. 除了这本书后面有问题答案以外, 这两本书完全一样。