Unit 102: So and such

English Grammar in Use With Answers » Unit 102: So and such

Compare so and such:

We use so + adjective/adverb: so stupid, so quick, so nice, so quickly

I didn't like the book. The story was so stupid.
I like Liz and Joe. They are so nice.

We use such + noun: such a story, such people
We also use such + adjective + noun: such a stupid story, such nice people

I didn't like the book. It was such a stupid story. (not a so stupid story)
I like Liz and Joe. They are such nice people. (not so nice people)

We say such a ... (not a such): such a big dog (not a such big dog)

So and such make the meaning stronger:

It's a beautiful day, isn't it? It's so warm. (= really warm) It's difficult to understand him because he talks so quietly.	It was a great holiday. We had such a good time. (= a really good time) You always think good things are going to happen. You're such an optimist.
You can use so ... that: The book was so good that I couldn't put it down. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the armchair.	You can use such ... that: It was such a good book that I couldn't put it down. It was such nice weather that we spent the whole day on the beach.
We usually leave out that: I was so tired I fell asleep.	We usually leave out that: It was such nice weather we spent ...

We also use so and such with the meaning 'like this':

Somebody told me the house was built 100 years ago. I didn't realise it was so old. (= as old as it is)
I'm tired because I got up at six. I don't usually get up so early.
I expected the weather to be cooler. I'm surprised it is so warm.

I didn't realise it was such an old house.
You know it's not true. How can you say such a thing?

Note the expression no such ... :

You won't find the word 'blid' in the dictionary. There's no such word. (= this word does not exist)

Compare:

so long I haven't seen her for so long I've forgotten what she looks like.	such a long time I haven't seen her for such a long time. (not so long time)
so far I didn't know it was so far.	such a long way I didn't know it was such a long way.
so much, so many I'm sorry I'm late - there was so much traffic.	such a lot (of) I'm sorry I'm late - there was such a lot of traffic.

102.1 Put in so, such or such a.

It's difficult to understand him because he speaks ⁽¹⁾ quietly.
I like Liz and Joe. They're ⁽²⁾ nice people.
It was a great holiday. We had ⁽³⁾ good time.
I was surprised that he looked ⁽⁴⁾ __________ well after his recent illness.
Everything is ⁽⁵⁾ __________ expensive these days, isn't it?
The weather is beautiful, isn't it? I didn't expect it to be ⁽⁶⁾ __________ nice day.
I think she works too hard. She looks ⁽⁷⁾ __________ tired all the time.
He always looks good. He wears ⁽⁸⁾ __________ nice clothes.
It was ⁽⁹⁾ __________ boring movie that I fell asleep while I was watching it.
I could nit believe the news. It was ⁽¹⁰⁾ __________ shock.
I have to go. I didn't realise it was ⁽¹¹⁾ __________ late.
The food at the hotel was ⁽¹²⁾ __________ awful. I've never eaten ⁽¹³⁾ __________ awful food.
They've got ⁽¹⁴⁾ __________ much money they don't know what to do with it.
I didn't realise you lived ⁽¹⁵⁾ __________ long way from the city centre.
The party was really great. It was ⁽¹⁶⁾ __________ shame you could nit come.

102.2 Make one sentence from two. Use so or such.

1) ~~She worked hard.~~
2) ~~It was a beautiful day.~~
3) I was tired.
4) We had a good time on holiday.
5) She speaks English well.
6) I've got a lot to do.
7) The music was loud.
8) I had a big breakfast.
9) It was horrible weather.
10) I was surprised.

You could hear it from miles away.
You would think it was her native language.
We spent the whole day indoors.
~~She made herself ill.~~
I couldn't keep my eyes open.
I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.
~~We decided to go to the beach.~~
I didn't know what to say.
I don't know where to begin.
We didn't want to come home.

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I was __________ .
__________ .
__________ .
__________ .
__________ .
__________ .
__________ .
__________ .

102.3 Use your own ideas to complete these pairs of sentences.

a) We enjoyed our holiday. It was so ⁽¹⁾ .
b) We enjoyed our holiday. We had such ⁽²⁾ .
a) I like Catherine. She's so ⁽³⁾__________ .
b) I like Catherine. She's such ⁽⁴⁾__________ .
a) I like New York. It's so ⁽⁵⁾__________ .
b) I like New York. It's such ⁽⁶⁾__________ .
a) I wouldn't like to be a teacher. It's so ⁽⁷⁾__________ .
b) I wouldn't like t o be a teacher. It's such ⁽⁸⁾__________ .
a) It's great to see you again! I haven't seen you for so ⁽⁹⁾__________ .
b) It's great to see you again! I haven't seen you for such ⁽¹⁰⁾__________ .

Answer Key

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