Collins Cobuild

Unit 98
Result clauses
Main points
You  use  result  clauses  to  talk  about  the  result  of  an  action  or
situation.
Result clauses are introduced by conjunctions such as ‘so’, ‘so…
(that)’, or ‘such…(that)’.
A result clause needs a main clause to make a complete sentence.
The result clause always comes after the main clause.
1
 You  use  ‘so’  and  ‘so  that’  to  say  what  the  result  of  an  action  or
situation is.
He speaks very little English, so I talked to him through an interpreter.
My suitcase had become damaged on the journey home, so that the lid
would not stay closed.
2
You also use ‘so…that’ or ‘such…that’ to talk about the result of an
action or situation.
He dressed so quickly that he put his boots on the wrong feet.
She got such a shock that she dropped the bag.
‘That’ is often omitted.
They were so surprised they didn’t try to stop him.

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They got such a fright they ran away again.
3
You only use ‘such’ before a noun, with or without an adjective.
They obeyed him with such willingness that the strike went on for over a
year.
Sometimes they say such stupid things that I don’t even bother to listen.
If the noun is a singular count noun, you put ‘a’ or ‘an’ in front of it.
I was in such a panic that I didn’t know it was him.
Note that you only use ‘so’ before an adjective or an adverb.
It all sounded so crazy that I laughed out loud.
They worked so quickly that there was no time for talking.
4
 When  you  want  to  say  that  a  situation  does  not  happen  because
someone or something has an excessive amount of a quality, you use
‘too’ with an adjective and a ‘to’-infinitive. For example, if you say
‘They  were  too  tired  to  walk’,  you  mean  that  they  did  not  walk
because they were too tired.
He was too proud to apologise.
She was too weak to lift me.
You also use ‘too’ with an adverb and a ‘to’-infinitive.
They had been walking too silently to be heard.
She spoke too quickly for me to understand.
5
 When  you  want  to  say  that  a  situation  happens  or  is  possible
because someone or something has a sufficient amount of a quality,
you  use  ‘enough’  after  adjectives  and  adverbs,  followed  by  a  ‘to’-
infinitive.
He was old enough to understand.
I could see well enough to know we were losing.

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You normally put ‘enough’ in front of a noun, not after it.
I don’t think I’ve got enough information to speak confidently.
6
 You  also  use  ‘and  as  a  result’,  ‘and  so’,  or  ‘and  therefore’  to  talk
about the result of an action or situation.
He had been ill for six months, and as a result had lost his job.
She was having difficulty getting her car out, and so I had to move my car
to let her out. We have a growing population and therefore we need more
and more food.
You  can  also  put  ‘therefore’  after  the  subject  of  the  clause.  For
example,  you  can  say  ‘We  have  a  growing  population  and  we
therefore need more food’.
‘As a result’ and ‘therefore’ can also be used at the beginning of a
separate sentence.
In a group, they are not so frightened. As a result, patients reveal their
problems more easily.
He lacks money to invest in improving his tools. Therefore he is poor.

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