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What's the Difference? 'So' and
'So That' |
If you asked even the most knowledgeable Americans, they
probably could not tell you more than a few meanings for
the word “so.” It is an everyday word that most people
use without even realizing its complexity.
But this mysterious little word can act as an adverb,
pronoun or conjunction, with many meanings as each. In
all, there are more than 25 meanings for “so.” That’s
one powerful word!
Today, we will tell you about three phrases that English
learners have trouble with: “so” “so that” and “so
adjective/adverb that.” We’ll discuss each one then
compare them.
Therefore…
Let's start with “so” as a coordinating conjunction – a
word that joins two or more things, such as sentences or
other words. When used in this way, it means "therefore"
or "for that reason."
For this meaning, “so” joins two complete sentences and
shows the result of something in the second sentence.
Take a listen:
The apartment was too hot, so we opened the window.
The first sentence provides the action or situation: The
apartment was too hot. It is joined by “so” to the
second sentence which explains the resulting action:
opening the window.
In order to…
OK, now we move to “so that,” a phrase that begins
adverb clauses. You may recall that an adverb clause
shows a relationship between two actions. It joins a
main clause, or complete sentence, to a dependent
clause, or incomplete sentence, and shows how they
relate.
“So that” means “in order to” which answers the question
“Why?” We use it to begin adverb clauses of purpose.
Let’s hear an example:
It helps to lower blood sugar so that you feel less
hungry.
The adverb clause is “so that you feel less hungry.” It
shows the purpose for the action in the main clause. Why
does it help to lower blood sugar? To feel less hungry.
“So that” can also come at the beginning of a sentence
but this is rarer and usually sounds stilted to
Americans. Listen:
So that you feel less hungry, it helps to lower blood
sugar.
One important note is that the word “that” is optional
for “so that” in spoken English, so it may disappear.
Here’s how that sounds:
It helps to lower blood sugar so you feel less hungry.
But without “that,” how will you know that the meaning
is “in order to”? One signal is that there is often a
modal verb in the adverb clause. Modal verbs include
can, could, may, might, will and others. Here’s how that
might sound:
It helps to lower blood sugar so you can feel less hungry.
The modal verb in the adverb clause is “can.”
To the level described…
Finally, let’s discuss the phrasing “so adjective/adverb
that.” This is different from both meanings we’ve talked
about. To try to put it simply, it means “to the level
described.” Here are some examples:
This morning, the construction was so loud that we could
not sleep.
This means that the construction was loud to a level
that prevented us from sleeping.
In the phrase “so adjective/adverb that,” the word
“that” begins a type of clause called a “complement
clause," but we will not talk about that in today’s
program.
What’s important today is knowing that the word “that”
for this phrase is also optional and may disappear.
Here’s how it sounds:
This morning, the construction was so loud we could not
sleep.
So, how might you know the meaning if “that” disappears?
Well, you can listen for an adjective after “so.” The
adjective in our example is “loud.”
Comparing the three
Now, we’ll compare the three phrases. You will hear
three sentences that sound similar but have different
meanings:
He is funny, so his friends laugh at him.
The meaning here is: He is funny. Therefore, his friends
laugh at him. Here’s the next one:
He makes jokes so that his friends will laugh.
This means: He makes jokes for the purpose of making his
friends laugh. It answers the question, “Why does he
make jokes?” Notice the modal “will” in the adverb
clause.
Now for the last meaning:
He is so funny that his friends laugh at him.
It means: He is funny to such a level that it makes his
friends laugh at him.
Now for one more set to help you examine the meanings:
She studied hard, so she was able to win a scholarship.
The meaning here is: She studied hard. Therefore, she
was able to win a scholarship. And the next one:
She studied hard so that she could win a scholarship.
It means: She studied hard for the purpose of winning a
scholarship. Again, you see a modal in the adverb
clause: could. And lastly:
She studied so hard that she won a scholarship.
This means: She studied hard to such a degree that she
won a scholarship.
You probably noticed that some examples other than those
with “so that” have modal verbs. All three of today’s
phrases can have modals, but “so that” adverb clauses
commonly have them.
Well, we’re so happy that you stayed around for today’s
program. Don’t forget to do the practice so that you can
remember what you learned!
I’m Alice Bryant.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Caty
Weaver was the editor. |
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Additional Information |
Now, you try it!
Rewrite each example with a "so" phrase from today’s
program. If an example is two separate sentences, make
it into one sentence.
Example:
I woke up early. For that reason, I went to the market.
(so)
I woke up early, so I went to the market.
We were having a great time. Therefore, we invited them
to our house for dinner. (so)
Meet me at the theater by 7pm to get good seats. (so
that)
His eyes were very tired. He could not read the words on
the page. (so adjective that)
We took a taxi to the party to avoid waiting outside in
the cold. (so that)
The dog ate the food very quickly. There was no food
left for the other dogs. (so adverb that)
She stayed in the U.S. for three months for the purpose
of studying English. (so that)
My phone broke. Therefore, I bought a new phone. (so)
I didn’t want to go. For that reason, I didn’t stay
long. (so)
I wrote this program in order to show the difference
between phrases. (so that) |
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Source: Voice of America |
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