so…that vs such…that
這兩個句型的意思是一樣的,都表示主詞是如此的…以至於…。至於要用so還是such,請注意三個重點。
- such與so後面要接的單字詞類:
在這種句型中,such是形容詞–形容詞只能修飾名詞(描述名詞的特色)–所以,後面要接名詞或名詞片語; so是副詞–副詞可以修飾形容詞與副詞–所以,後面要接形容詞或副詞。 - 名詞是可數或不可數,單數或複數
- 名詞前面有many, much, few跟little嗎?
下面,我們先分別解說這兩個句型,再詳述so跟such的判斷重點。
so…that 子句
這個句型有兩種:
- S be so 形容詞 that 子句
- S V so 副詞 that 子句
如何判斷so後面要接副詞或形容詞呢?通常,學生是用動詞來判斷so後面接形容詞或副詞:當動詞是be動詞時,就接形容詞; 當動詞是普通動詞時,就接副詞。然而,有些普通動詞後面卻要接形容詞,導致學生搞不清楚,要選擇形容詞還是副詞。很多學生選擇將每一個要用形容詞的動詞背起來,但是,這樣的方法,費時又容易在考試時,因為緊張而出錯。其實,可以用下面介紹的方法來判斷:如果是描述主詞特色,因為主詞一定是名詞,就要用形容詞; 如果描述動詞特色,就要接副詞。
- I was so tired that I couldn’t help falling asleep.
描述主詞的情緒,用形容詞tired - She sang so well in the competition that she won the first place.
描述動作做得好,用副詞well - The hamburger smells so good that I can’t wait to have a bite.
描述主詞的狀況,用形容詞good
such 名詞(片語) that 子句
這個句型只有一種:
- S be such 名詞 that 子句
請記得,如果名詞是複數或不可數名詞,其前面的形容詞是完整名詞片語的一部份。這樣的情況,一定用such,不可以用so。請不要一看到形容詞,就選擇用so,這樣會導致錯誤。
下面四個例句中,將完整的名詞片語用底線標示出來後,其前面都沒有單獨存在的形容詞:
- He is such a good teacher that all his students like him very much.
- Johnny is such a boy that we don’t know how to get along with him.
這句話中,因為boy前沒有使用形容詞,所以,要看前後文,來判斷文意 - It is such sweet drink that children enjoy it very much.
- They are such nice girls that everyone likes to play with them.
如何判斷要使用so或such
大部分的人都知道,so後面要接形容詞,such後面接名詞。當句子中只有形容詞或名詞時,很容易分辨要用so或such。例如:
The little girl is so cute that all her family like her a lot.
John is such a boy that everyone in his class likes to play with him.
當句子後面有形容詞,也有名詞時,有些學生就不知如何是好了。其實,只要將完整的名詞片語找出來,就能判斷要使用so還是such了。在以下三個句子裡,完整的名詞片語用底線標示出來。
Mary is a cute girl.
They are tall boys.
It is red water.
我們可以看到,複數名詞跟其前面的形容詞構成完整的名詞片語,形容詞不可以單獨存在,這樣的句子前要用such。
而如果在完整的名詞片語前有單獨存在的形容詞,就要用so。例如:
Mary is so patient a teacher that almost all her students do well at school.
抓住重點了嗎?只要先將完整名詞片語畫出來,如果其前面有單獨存在的形容詞,就用so; 沒有,就用such。
- They are such tall boys that they are asked to join the school basketball team.
因為boys是複數,形容詞是完整的名詞片語的一部份,所以用such - It was such expensive drinking water that I was reluctant to buy it.
因為water是不可數名詞,形容詞是完整的名詞片語的一部份,所以要用such - She is such a hard-working student that she is always the top five percent of her class.
因為studnet是單數可數名詞,完整的名詞片語要從a開始一直到student。因為名詞片語前面沒有留下形容詞,所以要用such - She is so hard-working a student that she is always the top five percent of her class.
這個句子和上一句相同,studnet為單數可數名詞,完整的名詞片語要從a開始到student。在完整名詞片語a student前面,有單獨存在的形容詞hard-working,所以,要使用so
so…that…句型的特殊情況
上面我們說到,在判斷時的另一個重點是,複數或不可數名詞,就用such。但是,在複數可數名詞前,如果有many跟few這兩個量詞,則要用so。同理,在不可數名詞前,如果出現much跟little,也不可以用such,而要用so。請特別注意這個情況。
- She has so much money that she doesn’t need to work.
雖然money不可數,但是前面出現much,所以用so - There are so many beautiful girls at the party that every boy is excited.
girls是複數名詞,但是其前面出現many,所以不能用such,要用so - There was so little water left in the bottle that I was unwilling to share it with her.
water雖然是單數名詞,但其前面出現little,所以,使用so
如果你有其他文法上的疑惑,可以到我們『英文文法』專頁,看看有沒有文章探討相關文法問題。