Re: Can we use "adjective + so that" instead of "so + adjective + that"?
Are the following sentences correct? If so, do they mean the same?
- It was so cold that I had to stay home.
- It was cold, so that I had to stay home.
[1]
It was [
so cold that I had to stay home]
.
[2]
It was cold [
so that I had to stay home].
Yes: you can, though the meanings are slightly different. In [1] it was the degree of coldness that caused you to stay at home, whereas in [2] it was simply the fact that it was cold. Note that in 2 we would more naturally say "It was cold so I had to stay home".
The grammar is different, too. If you’re interested, here’s why:
In [1] the bracketed element is an adjective phrase containing headed by the adjective “cold”, which has the underlined subordinate clause as its complement. Although the complement follows the head adjective, “cold”, it is not the adjective that licenses (specifically permits or requires) it but the adverb “so” that modifies “cold”.
In [2], by contrast, the bracketed element is a preposition phrase headed by the prep “so” with the underlined subordinate clause as its complement. Unlike the subordinate clause in [1], the preposition phrase is not a complement but an adjunct of result. It gives the result or consequence of it being cold.