Question:
<em />
Combine the sentences correctly using 'so...that':-
<em>There was much noise. I couldn't hear the speech.</em>
<em />
<em>A. There was much noise so I couldn't hear that the speech.</em>
<em>B. There was much noise so that I couldn't hear the speech.</em>
<em>C. There was so much noise that I couldn't hear the speech.</em>
<em>D. So much noise there was that I couldn't hear the speech.</em>
Answer:
The correct answer is C) There was so much noise that I couldn't hear the speech.
Explanation:
Besides the fact that A, B, and D are grammatically incorrect, let us start by looking at the structure of the sentences.
The sentences comprised of two independent clauses:
- There was much noise.
- I couldn't hear the speech.
But there is something wrong with the first sentence so let's see if any of the "so" or "that" can fix it.
Rules guiding the use of "So"
"So" is an intensity or degree adverb that modifies or qualifies adjectives and other adverbs. For example:
- <em>You are </em><em>so</em><em> kind</em>
- <em>She is </em><em>so</em><em> tidy</em>
Given the above, the best places to insert "so" in a sentence would be at the start and before "<em>much</em><em>"</em>.
To use it at the start without violating grammar rules would require a comma immediately after, such that the sentence would read thus:
<em>So, there was much noise.</em>
<em></em>
The sentence above, however, is still incorrect, and here is the reason why.
By adding "so" to "much" we are obeying the rule of "so" as a degree adverb.
Which when used without "much" can be used in sentences this way:
- He is so intelligent.
- She is so beautiful.
When combined with "much" it can be used properly right before <em>singular uncountable</em> nouns. In sentence 1 above, the singular uncountable noun there is noise.
Other examples of <em>singular uncountable</em> nouns are:
Now that we have fixed sentence 1, it should read thus:
1. There was <em>so</em><em> much</em> noise.
Let's look at sentence number 2.
"That" is a conjunction. One of its uses is for the connection of two independent clauses.
In summary, the correct form of the sentence after introducing "so" and "that" is:
<em>There was so much noise that I couldn't hear the speech.</em>
Cheers
