English 24
25th January 2003
A little bit of GRAMMAR

Hi guys
In this week's programme we discussed so and such. As usual we have put everything in writing so that you have absolutely no excuse for not completing the practice exercises!!!

So and such

We use so with an adjective or an adverb WITHOUT a noun:
§ " don't be so silly"
§ Some people think Gemma is difficult to understand because she speaks so quickly

We use such BEFORE a noun with or without an adjective: N.B. Such comes before a/an
§ " that was such a silly story"

We use so and such because they make the meaning of the adjective stronger:
§ What a gorgeous day! It's so hot! (= really hot!)
§ We loved the club last night. We had such a good time. (=really good time)
Compare so and such in the following sentences:
§ I like Sam and Stephen. They are so nice
§ I like Sam and Stephen. They are such nice people (not so nice people)

NB. We often say so …… that and such …that… :
§ I was so tired that I went to bed really early.
§ Elisa worked so hard that she made herself ill.
§ It was such lovely weather that we spent the whole day at the beach.
§ That book you gave me was so good that I couldn't put it down.
Or
§ It was such a good book that I couldn't put it down.
However you can leave out that in these sentences:
§ I was so tired (that) I went to bed really early.

But as usual you can also use so and such in different ways!! Check out the following sentences to see what we mean.
§ When we went to London we expected the weather to be much colder. We didn't expect it to be so warm. ( = as warm as it was)
§ Paolo is tired because he got up at 5am. He doesn't usually get up so early. (= as early as 5am)
§ For heavens sakes Samantha, hurry up! Stop walking so slowly! (=as slowly as you are walking)

§ I was really surprised when I was told that my great grandmother's house was built 200 years ago.
I didn't realise it was so old.
OR
I didn't realise it was such an old house.
Both meaning that I didn't realise that the house was as old as it was.

Another little tip that you may have noticed yourselves is that we say:
So long but such a long time; so far but such a long way; so many, so much but such a lot (of):
§ I haven't seen Beth for so long that I've almost forgotten what she looks like
Or for such a long time
§ I didn't know you lived so far away from your parents.
Or such a long way from….)
§ Why did you buy so much booze for the party?
Or such a lot of booze?
So we also use so before much many, few, and little.
§ I've got so much to do before we leave and so little time to do it.
Also we use so much, and NOT so by itself, before comparatives.
§ I'm really glad to hear your mum's feeling so much better. (Not so better)

Just one last thing! I thought I'd show you how to use an informal expression using such.
The expression is " such and such". We can use this expression to say:
§ Mr such and such = il signor tal dei tali;
§ Mr Jones lives in such and such street= Mr Jones abita nella tale strada
§ When you study chemistry you learn that such and such a chemical sign relates to such and such a chemical.

Ok let's get to work! Here are your practice exercises.

Exercise 1
Fill the space with either so or such.
e.g. I've never seen such a stupid film
Can you believe a person can be so ignorant?
1. I was shocked to see that he had aged _ much in the last five years.
2. My sister is a very beautiful girl. She's got _ beautiful eyes.
3. She's got _ a lot of books. Do you think she has read them all?
4. That restaurant was fantastic. We have to go again! I've never eaten _ wonderful food.
5. I can't face another evening with Charlie's crazy girlfriend. She is _ a nightmare!
6. Those were the good ol' days! Everything was _ cheap then, not like nowadays!
7. Don't go and see that film I fell asleep before the end it was _ boring.
8.The rain was _ heavy that it was impossible to drive safely.

Exercise 2
Now make the two sentences into one by using so.
e.g. Elisa worked very hard. She made herself ill.
Elisa worked so hard (that) she made herself ill.
1.a. I was very excited about going to Barcelona for my birthday. I couldn't sleep.
1.b. I was …………………………………………….
2.a. The weather was very bad. We decided not to go for a walk.
2.b. The ………………………………………………………………………
3.a. The train was very late. We decided to go by bus.
3.b. The ………………………………………………………………………………….
4.a. I spent a lot of money in the sales and now I can't afford to go on holiday.
4.b. I ……………………………………………….

Exercise 3
This time insert such instead of so, but remember the difference between them!
e.g. The film was so bad that I fell asleep half-way through.
It was such a bad film that I fell asleep half-way through.
1. a. There was so much rain yesterday that the river flooded its banks.
1. b. There ………………………………………………………………………………..
2. a. The holiday was so good that I'm thinking of going back again next year.
2 .b. ……………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. a. The first plane was so late that I missed my connecting flight.
3. b.. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. a. Your skin is so lovely.
4. b. …………………………………………………..

Exercise 4
Now try to complete the following sentences.
e.g. We had a lot to drink at last night's party, in the end we had to leave the car and get a taxi home.
We had so much to drink last night that ……………
1. a. Your house is quite a long way from the city centre.
1. b. I didn't know your house was so…………………
2. a. There were lots of people at the party last night.
2.b. I didn't think there would be so
3. a. It was a surprise to see Richard at the party last night.
3. b. I didn't expect to see Richard at the party last night, I haven't seen him for so………..

Answers

Exercise 1
1.so; 2.such; 3.such; 4.such; 5.such; 6.so; 7.so; 8.so

Exercise 2
1. b. I was so excited about going to Barcelona for my birthday (that) I couldn't sleep.
2. b. The weather was so bad (that) we decided to stay in/not to go for a walk.
3. b. The train was so late (that) we decided to go by bus.
4. b. I spent so much money in the sales (that) now I can't afford to go on holiday.

Exercise 3
1. b. There was such a lot of rain yesterday that the river flooded its banks.
2. b. It was such a good holiday that I'm thinking of going back again next year.
3. b. There was such a delay for my first flight that I missed my connection
4. b. You have such lovely skin.

Exercise 4
1.b. so far away from the city centre 2. b. so many people at the party ……… 3. so long.