Friday, October 21, 2011

So much, So big... Using emphasis words correctly

A lot of my Chinese friends make this mistake frequently:

Examples:
1. That's so big building.
2. So big flavor.
3. So relax! So enjoy!

First, here are the correct ways to say those examples:
1. That's such a big building.
2. "Such big flavor" or "So much flavor"
3. So relaxing! So enjoyable!

You'll notice that the above uses the words "so" and "such" a lot. Generally speaking, 'such' takes a noun phrase, whereas 'so' takes an adjective.

Other uses of the word "so":

'So … that'

'So … that' takes an adjective. 'That' can be used following the noun phrase but is not required.

So + adjective + that/this

Example:

The game was so fascinating that he played for hours.

'So' for Results

'So' can also be used to express a result. In this case 'so' is followed by a full clause:

Examples:

I had a lot of time so I visited the museum.
She wasn't happy in her current position so she looked for a new job.

Here's a link to a quiz to help you test your new words:

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUIZ