"Relative clauses need to be distinguished from a second type of finite clause which can postmodify a noun: the appositive

clause. This looks very similar to a relative clause introduced by that . Compare: 1) The story that I wrote was published. 2) The story that I had resigned was published. The first is relative (that can be replaced by which); the 2nd is appositive (that means "that is", and cannot be replaced by which)." 1) The story that I wrote was published.=I wrote the story and the story was published Here the story is the object of I wrote. In other words, I wrote is an incomplete sentence. 2) The story that I had resigned was published.=The story was published.(What kind of story is it?) The story is that I had resigned. Here I had resigned is a complete sentence and it is the content of the story. An appositive that-clause usually follows an abstract noun, which is mostly a derivative from a verb or an adjective. belief (believe), comment (comment), confidence (confident), discovery (discover), doubt (doubt), evidence (evident), fact, fear (fear), hope (hope), indication (indicate), idea, information (inform), knowledge (know), news, opinion, order (order), problem, promise (promise), proof (prove), proposal (propose), report (report), rumor (rumor), story (tell), suggestion (suggest), thought (think), truth (true), wish (wish). (EX) We must face the fact that the Earth is steadily warming. (EX) We agree to the opinion that we must reduce CO2 release. (EX) Columbus had a firm belief that the world is round. (EX) Cleopatra received the news that Caesar had been killed. Please note the undelined parts can stand as a complete sentence by themselves. 1) The story (that I wrote) was published. --> Here, "that" is a relative pronoun referring to "the story," and it is the object of the verb "wrote." This sentence can be divided into two: The story was published. I wrote the story. ("the story" becomes "that" or "which" when this sentence becomes a suborniate clause to the main clause "The story was published.") 2)The story that (I had resigned) was published.--> Here, "that" is not the object of the verb "had resigned." In other words, we cannot say, "I had resigned the story." The sentence also can be divided into two: The story was published. I had resigned. (In the latter sentence, "the story" is not included.)

True,but that's not the point. that is not a pronoun in the proof that they are spies. That is, that does not substitute in any way for the noun proof. Contrast: In the proof that the scientist provided, the scientist provided "that", namely, provided the proof. In the proof that they are spies, we can't say, they are spies "that", namely, they are spies proof. ______ This is the confirmation that that they are spies is a content clause, that is, an appositive clause. We need to distinguish appositive that -clauses from relative clauses which begin with the relative pronoun 'that' Ex 1. The story that she killed her brother is not true.( appositive) =The story is that she killed her brother and the story is not true. 2.The story that she told her brother is not true.(relative clause ) =The story which she told her brother is not true. Two or more NPs which occure next to each other & refer to the same person or thing are said to be in apposition. Apposition may be restrictive or non-restrictive The apposition in non-restrictive apposition in different information units and the two appositives have different information value,one of them being subordinate in the distribution of information Despite your post having been made some time ago, it does contain some errors that could be misleading to serious learners: Firstly, the clauses that you cite as 'appositive that -clauses' are actually COMPLEMENT CLAUSES. They are not appositive - only NPs can be appositive, never clauses. Secondly, we don't call them 'that-clauses' because it would be perverse to name a clause constituent after the one word that is freely omissible in such constructions.

A. From Adjective Clauses to Appositives Like an adjective clause, an appositive provides more information about a noun. In fact, we may think of an appositive as a simplified adjective clause. Consider, for example, how the following two sentences can be combined:

Jimbo Gold is a professional magician.

Jimbo Gold performed at my sister's birthday party.

One way to combine these sentences is to turn the first sentence into an adjective clause: Jimbo Gold, who is a professional magician, performed at my sister's birthday party. We also have the option of reducing the adjective clause in this sentence to an appositive. All that we need to do is omit the pronoun who and the verb is: Jimbo Gold, a professional magician, performed at my sister's birthday party. The appositive a professional magician serves to identify the subject, Jimbo Gold. Reducing an adjective clause to an appositive is one way to cut the clutter in our writing. However, not all adjective clauses can be shortened to appositives in this fashion--only those that contain a form of the verb to be (is, are, was, were). B. Arranging Appositives An appositive most often appears directly after the noun it identifies or renames: Arizona Bill, "The Great Benefactor of Mankind," toured Oklahoma with herbal cures and a powerful liniment. Note that this appositive, like most, could be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. In other words, it's nonrestrictive and needs to be set off with a pair of commas. Occasionally, an appositive may appear in front of a word that it identifies: A dark wedge, the eagle hurtled earthward at nearly 200 miles per hour. An appositive at the beginning of a sentence is usually followed by a comma. In each of the examples seen so far, the appositive has referred to the subject of the sentence. However, an appositive may appear before or after any noun in a sentence. In the following example, the appositive refers to roles, the object of a preposition:

People are summed up largely by the roles they fill in society--wife or husband, soldier or salesperson, student or scientist--and by the qualities that others ascribe to them. This sentence demonstrates a different way of punctuating appositives--with dashes. When the appositive itself contains commas, setting off the construction with dashes helps to prevent confusion. Using dashes instead of commas also serves to emphasize the appositive. Placing an appositive at the very end of a sentence is another way to give it special emphasis. Compare these two sentences: At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen--a white-tailed deer--was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block. At the far end of the pasture, the most magnificent animal I had ever seen was cautiously edging toward a salt-lick block--a white-tailed deer. Whereas the appositive merely interrupts the first sentence, it marks the climax of sentence two. C. Punctuating Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Appositives As we've seen, most appositives are nonrestrictive--that is, the information that they add to a sentence is not essential for the sentence to make sense. Nonrestrictive appositives are set off by commas or dashes. A restrictive appositive (like a restrictive adjective clause) is one that cannot be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. A restrictive appositive should not be set off by commas: John-Boy's sister Mary Ellen became a nurse after their brother Ben took a job at a lumber mill. Because John-Boy has multiple sisters and brothers, the two restrictive appositives make clear which sister and which brother the writer is talking about. In other words, the two appositives are restrictive, and so they are not set off by commas. D. Four Variations 1. Appositives that Repeat a Noun Although an appositive usually renames a noun in a sentence, it may instead repeat a noun for the sake of clarity and emphasis: In America, as in anywhere else in the world, we must find a focus in our lives at an early age, a focus that is beyond the mechanics of earning a living or coping with a household. (Santha Rama Rau, "An invitation to Serenity")

Notice that the appositive in this sentence is modified by an adjective clause. Adjectives, prepositional phrases, and adjective clauses (in other words, all of the structures that can modify a noun) are often used to add details to an appositive. 2. Negative Appositives Most appositives identify what someone or something is, but there are also negative appositives that identify what someone or something is not: Line managers and production employees, rather than staff specialists, are primarily responsible for quality assurance. Negative appositives begin with a word such as not, never, or rather than. 3. Multiple Appositives Two, three, or even more appositives may appear alongside the same noun: Saint Petersburg, a city of almost five-million people, Russia's second-largest and northernmost metropolis, was designed three centuries ago by Peter the Great. As long as we don't overwhelm the reader with too much information at one time, a double or triple appositive can be an effective way of adding supplementary details to a sentence. 4. List Appositives with Pronouns A final variation is the list appositive that precedes a pronoun such as all or these or everyone: Streets of yellow row houses, the ochre plaster walls of old churches, the crumbling sea-green mansions now occupied by government offices--all seem in sharper focus, with their defects hidden by the snow. The word all is not essential to the meaning of the sentence: the opening list could serve by itself as the subject. However, the pronoun helps to clarify the subject by drawing the items together before the sentence goes on to make a point about them.