Aloha, good morning.
We eat out despite (the fact) that it is snowing.
But for (the fact) that the resue team had came to me, I would have died already.
Can I omit "the fact" above because that-clause is noun already after preposition?
It's seek time.thanks no end.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Good morning, Atom1995.
(1) The other posters have certainly taught me a lot.
(2) May I give you my tiny contribution?
(3) NO, you may NOT omit "the fact."
(a) Your sentence is basically: We eat out despite the fact.
(b) Of course, your listener would ask, "Excuse me. What fact?"
(c) You would then add: It is snowing.
(d) As my favorite books tell me:
(i) It is snowing = noun clause acting as an appositive to the word "fact."
(ii) We eat out despite the fact (it is snowing).
(iii) To make it more formal, you may introduce the noun clause with "that," which some books call an "expletive." It means absolutely nothing:
We eat out despite the fact (that + it is snowing).
(4) As the other posters told you, if you don't want to use "the fact," you will have to rewrite your sentence with a conjunction:
We eat out even though it is snowing.
Although it is snowing, we eat out.
(5) Or just use a preposition:
Despite the snow, we eat out.
Have a nice day!