student asking question

Is there any difference in nuance between "There's no reason to cry" and "That's no reason to cry"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, there is a difference between "there's no reason to cry" and "that's no reason to cry". "There's no reason to cry" means that she shouldn't be crying in general, however, it doesn't indicate a specific reason why. Replacing "there's" with "that's" expresses a specific reason why someone is crying. In this case, it is because Penny feels stupid. So he responds with "that's no reason to cry" here, which implies that feeling stupid is no reason to cry.

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