the situation is so bad

[navi tasan]

1) Do not wait till the situation is so bad before seeking help.
2) Do not wait till the situation is ever so bad before seeking help.

The idea is that you shouldn't wait till the situation is really bad. I think 'so bad' here means 'bad to a certain extent'/'to a great extent'.

I am not sure the sentences are correct and I am not sure I really get the meaning.

Are both sentences correct, and do they mean what I think they mean?

 

[Barque]

Are both sentences correct, and do they mean what I think they mean?

The first sounds as if a bad situation has already occurred, and you're giving the affected person advice for the next time it happens. Here, "so bad" implies "as bad as it is now".
The second sounds unnatural. "Ever so bad" doesn't fit here. It could fit a different structure.

The idea is that you shouldn't wait till the situation is really bad.

If you're saying this at a time when the situation isn't bad, as advice for the future, you can say:
Don't wait till the situation is bad before you ask for help.
Don't wait till the situation is very bad before you ask for help.
If you have a problem, don't wait till the last minute before you ask for help.

I think 'so bad' here means 'bad to a certain extent'/'to a great extent'.

"So" can be used to mean "very" but not always.

Don't wait till the situation is so bad = As I said above, this suggests that a bad situation has already occurred, because "so" can mean "as it is now". It wouldn't be taken as "very".
The situation is so bad over there = This works and it means "The situation's very bad over there".
The situation is ever so bad = This works and this also means the situation is very bad. ("Ever so bad" isn't a very common way of putting it, in my opinion, though it's used.) But it'd be odd to say "Don't wait till the situation is ever so bad" (as I said above).

and I am not sure I really get the meaning.

Aren't they your sentences? If they aren't, please tell us where you read them.

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you Barque.

I heard something like '2'. It was said by a native speaker. I am not sure the structure was exactly the same. It was in the middle of a conversation and I didn't have time to think about it. I thought about it later and couldn't remember the exact wording.

 

[emsr2d2]

We generally discourage learners from using "so" in place of "very" because it can cause confusion. Save "so" for "so ... that" constructions.

Don't wait for the situation to get/become really bad before you ask for help.
Ask for help before the situation gets/becomes really bad.