CAUSE AND EFFECT

“so…that” vs “such…that”

Both “so…that” and “such…that” are used to show cause and effect. There are some similarities and
differences of them, such as:
 having the same meaning as each other in a sentence
 used to explain the result or to explain an opinion about something (which are mentioned before)
 used to express both the cause and the result/effect of a situation in a sentence
 having differences in their use in the sentence

1. “So…that”

We can use “so” with “adjectives/adverbs + that” to state the cause explaining the result/effect. In
addition, it is also used to indicate that something happens at extreme points. However, while using
“that” is optional, we cannot use ”very” to replace “so”.

Pattern:
So + Adjective/Adverb + That + Result

Examples:
 My child’s room was so untidy (that) he could not find anything he was looking for.  with
adjective
 This machine works so loudly (that) I have a headache.  with adverb

We can also use “so” with quantifiers (many/few/much/little) + “that” to explain the result. However,
using “that” is optional.

Pattern:
So + many/few + Plural Countable Nouns + That + Result
So + much/little + Uncountable Nouns + That + Result

Examples:
 The child had so many toys (that) he could not decide which to play.
 She has so few friends (that) she always spends her time watching TV at home.
 He eats so much sugar (that) he may be diabetic.

2. “Such … That”

We can use “such” with “adjective + noun + that” to explain the result. It is also used to express
extreme feelings or an opinion about something. Different from “so…that”, we should add noun after
the adjective following the word “such”.

Pattern:
Such + Adjective + Noun + That + Result

Examples:
 She has such beautiful eyes (that) I can’t take my eyes off her.
 It was such a good movie (that) many people watched it.
 It was such an expensive restaurant (that) I decided not to go there anymore.
Exercise:

A. Complete the sentences below using “so” or “such” carefully!

1. The bread is … cheap that Alanis chooses to buy it.
2. It took … much time to ask you that we lost our patience.
3. This is …a beautiful moment that I want to capture everything in my camera.
4. Amara works … quickly that her boss promotes her as a manager.
5. She is … an adorable girl that none will ever get angry to her.

B. Combine the following sentences by using “so … that” and “such … that”.
Pay attention to the example!

Example : This food is tasty. I think I’ll have more.

→ This food is so tasty that I think I’ll have more.

→ This is such tasty food that I think I’ll have more.

We took a walk. It was a nice day.

→ The day was so nice that we took a walk.

→ It was such a nice day that we took a walk.

1. I had to wear my wool-coat. It was a cold day.

→ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. It was an expensive car. We couldn’t afford to buy it.
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………
→ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………