Podcast 112 - B1 so and such

Spring is such a nice time of year, isn't it? It's my favourite season of the year. Here in the south of Spain, it's so beautiful now in the month of April. It's the time of year when the wild flowers come out. It's not too hot and it's so lovely to be outside walking through the colourful city of Seville or walking in the hills around the city. Today I'm going to look at those words 'so' + the adjective or 'such a' + a noun phrase. This is a B1 session. If you are B2, there is also another podcast I did on this topic, so and such, which is a bit more advanced, and that was podcast 50... Anyway, for all B1 level students who want to learn more about so and such, let's go...

Seville spring so and such

The meanings and uses of 'so' and 'such'

If you look up the meaning of 'such' and 'so' in a dictionary it says that these words mean 'to a great degree'. That means they are used to emphasize the amount or the quality of something. These words can mean 'very', 'really' or 'extremely'. They can also be used in comparative sentences too. So, (and that 'so' as a linking word is not connected to the 'so' we are talking about today) - so, let's have a look at some examples.

'So' is often used in imperatives. For example, we can say to somebody.

Don't be so sad!

or,

Don't worry so much!

or,

Don't get so angry!

The 'so' here is just emphasizing how sad or worried or how angry somebody is.

'So' is frequently used with 'much' (uncountable) and 'many' (countable).

There's so much pollution in our rivers. It's very sad.
There are so many tourists in Seville in April. All the bars are full.

Now listen to this sentence.

When I told her I'd crashed her car, she looked so angry.

Well, it's normal, isn't it? I asked to borrow my wife's car and I crashed into a tree. The 'so' in that sentence really means 'really' - 'she looked really angry' or 'she looked so angry'. That is what I mean by 'to a great degree' - really! The word 'so' is an adverb and that means it goes before an adjective - so angry.

'Such' means the same thing as 'so' but we have to change the sentence structure to use it. 'Such' must come before a noun or a noun phrase, which is a group of words that include a noun. For example:

When I told her I'd crashed her car, she gave me such an angry look.

Now we have a noun phrase after 'such' - 'an angry look'. But the meaning is very similar: 'she looked so angry' or 'she gave me such an angry look'. Perhaps we could say that another way - 'she gave me a really angry look' - 'really angry' or 'a very' or 'an extremely angry look'.

Those last sentences we looked at can just finish there.

She looked so angry.
She gave me such an angry look.

But we could continue the sentence like this:

She looked so angry (that) I left the house immediately!
She gave me such an angry look (that) I had to promise to pay for the repairs!

In some languages, these translations of the words 'so' and 'such' when we follow them with 'that', may change. It's true that the meaning is slightly different. More examples:

He spoke so quietly (that) I couldn't hear what he said.
He spoke in such a quiet voice (that) I had to get very close to hear him.

'So' and 'such' and comparative sentences

Finally, we can combine these words with 'as' to make comparative sentences.

The concert wasn't so good as last year.

or,

It wasn't such a good concert as last year.

Another example:

German isn't so easy a language to learn as French.

or,

German isn't such an easy language to learn as French.

You will notice then that 'so' in these comparative sentences is replacing 'as'.

The concert wasn't as good as last year.

Oh, no! So which one should you use? 'So' or 'as' in comparatives? Well, the rule is, you can use 'so' + 'as' or 'as + 'as' only in negative comparatives but we must use 'as' + 'as' in affirmative comparatives. Examples:

John is not so good as Mary is at French.

or,

John is not as good as Mary is at French.

but,

Mary is as good as Peter at French.

Never,

Mary is so good as Peter at French.

Hope this is helpful. Goodbye!