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English Grade 11 - Notes

Clause of Cause/Result (Effect) - so, such/so …. that
1- So as a conjunction can be used to express result (effect). It connects the ideas of two
independent clauses.
E.g. - The room was dark, so I turned on the light.
Cause: The room was dark. Result (Effect): I turned on the light.
- The meat went bad, so I threw it away.
Cause: The meat went bad. Result (Effect): I threw it away.
- I slammed on the brakes, so the car stopped.
Cause: I slammed on the brakes. Result (Effect): The car stopped.
2- So as an adverb can be used before adverbs and with adjectives which are not followed by their
nouns.
E.g. - The snow fell so fast that our footsteps were soon covered up.
Cause: The snow fell fast. Result (Effect): Our footsteps were soon covered up.
- Their dog was so fierce that no one dared to come near it.
Cause: Their dog was fierce. Result (Effect): No one dared to come near it.
3- such as an adjective can be used before an adjective + noun.
E.g. - They had such a fierce dog that no one dared to go near their house.
Cause: They had a fierce dog. Result (Effect): No one dared to go near their house.
- He spoke for such a long time that people began to fall asleep.
Cause: He spoke for a long time. Result (Effect): People began to fall asleep.
Remember that such is never used before much and many, so so is used even when much and many
are followed by nouns.
E.g. - There was so much dust that we couldn’t see what was happening.
- So many people complained that they took the program off.
4- Note that such + a + adjective + noun is replaceable by so + adjective + a + noun. This is only
possible when a noun is preceded by a/an. Sometimes so can be placed at the beginning of a
sentence for emphasis. In this case, it is followed by inverted form of the verb.
E.g. - It was such an expensive watch that I couldn’t buy it.
= The watch was so expensive that I couldn’t buy it.
= So expensive was the watch that I couldn’t buy it.
Don’t confuse sentences with because and so.
Compare the following sentences below.
- He drank water because he was thirsty. (reason)
- He was thirsty, so he drank water. (result/effect)
Note that the sentences with so at the top of this note can be changed into sentences with because.
Can you try to change them?
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