Utilizamos “so” (tan, así, entonces) y “such” (semejante, tal, tan, tanto) para añadir énfasis, mostrar sentimientos extremos o para dar la opinión sobre algo. La diferencia entre los dos está en cómo los utilizamos en la estructura de las frases.
So
so + adjective/adverb (tan + adjetivo/adverbio)
Utilizamos “so” con adjetivos o adverbios para mostrar sentimientos o efectos extremos. En estos casos, el adjetivo o adverbio va directamente despues de “so” en la frase.
Ejemplos:
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I have been working since 7 this morning. I’m so tired!(He estado trabajando desde las 7 de la mañana. ¡Estoy tan cansada!)
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Why are you driving so fast?(¿Por qué estás conduciendo tan rápido?)
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Kate is so beautiful. I can’t believe she’s single!(Kate es tan hermosa. íNo puedo creer que esté soltera!)
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My daughter studied so hard for her exam.(Mi hija estudió tan duramente para su examen.)
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so + quantifier + noun (tan + cuantificador + sustantivo)
Podemos utilizar los cuantificadores (“many”, “much”, “little”, etc.) con “so” para indicar extremos en cantidad, pero hace falta recordar las reglas de usos de los cuantificadores y contables e incontables, singulares y plurales (para más información, ver la lección de cuantificadores.) Estos son los únicos casos en los que “so” se usa con un sustantivo. “So much” o “so many” pueden ser traducidos también como “tanto” o “tantos” en español.
Podemos utilizar los cuantificadores (“many”, “much”, “little”, etc.) con “so” para indicar extremos en cantidad, pero hace falta recordar las reglas de usos de los cuantificadores y contables e incontables, singulares y plurales (para más información, ver la lección de los cuantificadores.) Estos son los únicos casos en los que “so” se usa con un sustantivo. “So much” o “so many” pueden ser traducidos también como “tantos” en español.
Ejemplos:
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Teresa has so many talents!(¡Teresa tiene tantos talentos!)
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With three kids and a full-time job, my sister has so little free time.(Con tres hijos y un trabajo de jornada completa, mi hermana tiene tan poco tiempo libre.)
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I have so few memories of my childhood.(Tengo tan pocos recuerdos de mi infancia.)
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The children watch so much television.(Los niños miran tanta televisión.)
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so + that (tan + que)
Podemos utilizar “so” con “that” para mostrar resultados o consecuencias. En general, el uso de “that” es opcional.
Ejemplos:
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The music was so loud that I couldn’t hear my own voice.(La música era tan fuerte que no podía oír mi propia voz.)
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He was driving so fast that he had an accident.(Estaba conduciendo tan rápido que tuvo un accidente.)
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My son studied so hard that he received the best grade in the class.(Mi hijo estudió tan duramente que recibió la mejor nota de la clase.)
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Such
such + adjective + noun (tan + adjetivo + sustantivo)
Como con “so”, utilizamos “such” con adjetivos para mostrar extremos. A diferencia de “so”, “such” está seguido por un adjetivo más un sustantivo. Las frases que utilizan “such” para dar énfasis se pueden traducir como “¡Que!” en español (ver el tercer ejemplo).
Ejemplos:
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I am so lucky. I have such wonderful friends!(Tengo tanta suerte. ¡Tengo amigos tan maravillosos!)
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That is such a pretty dress! You should wear it more often.(¡Este vestido es tan bonito! Debería llevarlo más a menudo.)
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It is such a beautiful day(¡Que día tan bonito!)
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Nota: No se puede utilizar “such” con los cuantificadores como “much”, “many”, “few”, o “little”. Sólo con “so” se pueden utilizar estos cuantificadores.
such + that (tan + que)
Como con “so”, podemos utilizar “such” con “that” para mostrar extremos que terminan en un resultado. En general, el uso de “that” es opcional.
Ejemplos:
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It was such a beautiful day that we decided to go to the beach.(Fue un día tan bonito que decidimos ir a la playa.)
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Dave has such a small car that he doesn’t have to spend much money on gas.(Dave tiene un coche tan pequeño que no tiene que gastar mucho dinero en gasolina.)
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It was such a good meal that we made it again the next night.(Era una comida tan buena que la hicimos otra vez la siguiente noche.)
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such + judgmental noun (tan + sustantivo critico)
Con sustantivos críticos, el uso de “such” da énfasis.
Ejemplos:
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I have never liked Andy. He is such a jerk!(Nunca me ha gustado Andy. ¡Es tan idiota!)
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You are such a clown! Are you ever serious?(Eres un payaso. ¿Jamás estás serio?)
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such + noun (tal + sustantivo)
Cuando “such” está seguido directamente por un sustantivo, “such” significa “tal” o “un tipo de”.
Ejemplos:
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I have never seen such architecture before.(Nunca he visto tal arquitectura antes.)
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We very rarely listen to such music.(Muy raramente escuchamos tal música.)
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“So” and “such” are used to add emphasis, to show extreme emotions or to give an opinion on something. The difference between the two is in their use within the structure of the sentence.
So
so + adjective/adverb
We use “so” with adjectives and adverbs to show emotions or extreme effects. In these instances, the adjective or adverb is found directly after “so” in the sentence.
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I have been working since 7 this morning. I’m so tired!
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Why are you driving so fast?
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Kate is so beautiful. I can’t believe she’s single!
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My daughter studied so hard for her exam.
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so + quantifier [many/few, much/little] + noun
“So” can be used with quantifiers to indicate extremes in quantity, but it is important to remember the rules regarding the uses of quantifiers, countable and uncountable nouns, singulars and plurals. See the lesson on quantifiers for more information. These are the only cases in which “so” is used with a noun.
“So” can be used with quantifiers to indicate extremes in quantity, but it is important to remember the rules regarding the uses of quantifiers, countable and uncountable nouns, singulars and plurals. See the lesson on quantifiers for more information. These are the only cases in which “so” is used with a noun.
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Teresa has so many talents!
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With three kids and a full-time job, my sister has so little free time.
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I have so few memories of my childhood.
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The children watch so much television.
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so + that
We use “so” with “that”, to show results or consequences. In general, the use of “that” is optional.
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The music was so loud that I couldn’t hear my own voice.
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He was driving so fast that he had an accident.
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My son studied so hard that he received the best grade in the class.
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Such
such + adjective + noun
As with “so”, we use “such” with adjectives to show extremes, but as opposed to “so”, “such” is followed by an adjective as well as a noun.
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I am so lucky. I have such wonderful friends!
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That is such a pretty dress! You should wear it more often.
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It is such a beautiful day!
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Note: “Such” cannot be used with quantifiers such as “much”, “many”, “few”, o “little”. Only “so” can be used with these quantifiers.
such + that
As with “so”, “such” is used with “that” to show extremes that end in a particular result. In these cases, as with “so”, the use of “that” is optional.
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It was such a beautiful day that we decided to go to the beach.
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Dave has such a small car that he doesn’t have to spend much money on gas.
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It was such a good meal that we made it again the next night.
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such + judgmental noun
With judgmental nouns, the use of “such” gives emphasis.
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I have never liked Andy. He is such a jerk!
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You are such a clown! Are you ever serious?
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such + noun
When “such” is followed directly by a noun, “such” means “a type of”.
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I have never seen such architecture before.
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We very rarely listen to such music.
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