Should I pause before or after the "that" of an object clause?

For example, if I want to pause in speech, which way is better:

I {a very long adverb phrase} realized | that English is so useful but not easy to master.

or

I {a very long adverb phrase} realized that | English is so useful but not easy to master.

Solution 1:

Many other people have answered, there is no need to pause in that sentence, either before or after the word that, and they are correct.

However, you may of course want to pause in that sentence - perhaps for emphasis, or to catch your breath, or simply to let your listener catch up...

In that case, you should pause before the "that": the word "that" introducing a subordinate clause belongs with the clause it introduces:

I recently realized | that English is so useful but not easy to master.

Putting the pause after "that" would sound a little strange (though often people do pause at that point, usually when they're trying to think of what to say next :)

Solution 2:

There is no need for a pause in that sentence.

Solution 3:

English conjunctions are associated with what follows them. If you're going to pause next to such words as that, and, and or, you should pause before rather than after. That said, as other answers mention, there is no real need for a pause in this sentence, except perhaps if you were speaking slowly and thoughtfully.

Solution 4:

In speech, I would generally say neither as long as you're using "that". In normal speech I don't think there would be an appreciable pause neither before nor after the word "that" in such a construction.

If you omit the word "that", then it would be appropriate to pause (briefly) in the place where the word was omitted.