Too…To… So…That… Examples

Study the examples given below.

• She is very proud. She will not ask for help.

We can combine these two sentences using too…to… or so…that…

• She is too proud to ask for help.
• She is so proud that she will not ask for help.

When we combine two sentences using too…to…, we get a simple sentence.

When we combine two sentences using so…that…, we get a complex sentence.

When the verb in the so-clause is in the present tense, use will, can or may in the that-clause.

When the verb in the so-clause is in the past tense, use would, could or might in the that-clause.

More examples are given below.

• His ideas are very complex. I cannot comprehend them.
• His ideas are too complex for me to comprehend (them).

We usually omit the object pronoun after the to infinitive in this structure and it is more common to write: His ideas are too complex for me to comprehend.

The object pronoun cannot be omitted when the sentences are combined using so…that…

• His ideas are so complex that I cannot comprehend them.

Combine the following sentences using too…to and so…that…

1. He is very tired. He cannot walk.

2. It is very cold. We cannot go out.

3. We arrived late. We could not catch the train.

4. It is very early. The shops cannot be open now.

5. The road is narrow. Two vehicles cannot pass simultaneously.

6. She is very young. She cannot know better.

7. The bag was very heavy. I could not lift it.

8. The problem is very difficult. I cannot solve it.

Answers

1. He is too tired to walk. / He is so tired that he cannot walk.

2. It is too cold to go out. /It is too cold for us to go out. / It is so cold that we cannot go out.

3. We arrived too late to catch the train. / We arrived so late that we could not catch the train.

4. It is too early for the shops to be open. / It is so early that the shops cannot be open.

5. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass simultaneously. / The road is so narrow that two vehicles cannot pass simultaneously.

6. She is too young to know better. / She is so young that she cannot know better.

7. The bag was too heavy for me to lift. / The bag so heavy that I could not lift it.

8. The problem is too difficult to solve. / The problem is too difficult for me to solve (it). / The problem is so difficult that I cannot solve it.