So or such (She’s so clever)

B1-B1+
Grammar
Intensifiers

We use so and such to intensify adjectives: Compare:

Helen got all the answers right. She is so clever. (= She is very clever.)

We use so before adjectives that do not have a noun after them, and before adverbs:

	ADJECTIVE
This tea is so	sweet!
Tom’s feet are so	big!

	ADVERB
They get up so	late.
Maria sang so	beautifully!

Helen got all the answers right. She is such a clever person. (= She is a very clever person.)

We use such a/an before an adjective + singular noun (e.g. person). We use such before a plural noun (e.g. feet) or an uncountable noun (e.g. food):

	ADJECTIVE + NOUN
It was such an	amazing car!
He has such	big feet!
That was such	excellent food.

Uncountable nouns

These are some common uncountable nouns:	ice, water, rain, snow, heat, noise, cotton, glass, petrol, money, luggage information, work, homework, advice, news meat, milk, butter, bread, marmalade, food, tea, coffee, sugar, toast, cheese
Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form:	petrol (not petrols) bread (not breads)
We cannot use a/an with an uncountable noun, but we can use some/any, the, much (not many), such, and my/your/his etc:	a : I always have an egg, and then toast* and marmalade for breakfast.* some: I’d like some tea, please. the: Look at the snow* outside.* much: How much luggage* have you got?* such: We’ve had such wonderful news.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable:	I heard a noise* from downstairs.* (countable) I can’t sleep. The neighbours are making so much noise. (uncountable)

We can use so with many and much:

so many + plural noun:
There were so many people in the shop.

so much + uncountable noun:
We had so much work to do.

We can use such with a lot of:

such a lot of + plural noun:
There were such a lot of people in the shop.

such a lot of + uncountable noun:
We had such a lot of work to do.

Sentences with so and such can also describe the result of something:

	RESULT
It was so dark	*that* we didn’t see him.
He arrived so late,	he missed his plane.

	RESULT
It was such a* dark night*	*that* we didn’t see him.
It was such a* lovely day,*	we went to the beach.

PRACTICE

Now it is time to practise what you have learned.

For each Practice Test, read the instructions carefully.
Complete the exercise and press 'Check' to get your results.

Practice Test A

Practice Test B

Practice Test C

Practice Test D

Nigel Bailey

Nigel is a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has been teaching in Poland since 2003. He has been teaching over the Internet since 2008 and has taught more than 1,000 students in this way.

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