5 exercises — forming so...that, such...that, and so that clauses correctly to express degree and consequence in postmortems and design docs.
Key patterns:
so + adjective + that — degree leading to a result
such a/an + adjective + noun + that — same idea with a noun phrase
so that (unsplit) — purpose or intended result
too...to — excess preventing an action, not a result clause
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
A postmortem states: "The queue grew _____ large that the consumer service ran out of memory." Which word correctly completes this resultative structure?
"So" pairs with an adjective (so large that...) to form a resultative clause showing degree leading to a consequence. "Such" is used before a noun phrase instead (such a large queue that...), not directly before an adjective. "Too" implies excess without necessarily stating a result clause with "that", and "as" does not form this pattern at all.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly uses "such...that" with a noun phrase to express a technical result:
"Such a/an + adjective + noun + that" is the correct pattern for resultative clauses with countable singular nouns: such a high error rate that.... Option B incorrectly uses "so" before an article-noun combination. Option C reverses the word order of the article and adjective. Option D omits the article "a", which is required with a singular countable noun like "rate".
3 / 5
In a design doc: "The service is _____ tightly coupled to the legacy database _____ any migration requires a full rewrite." Which pair correctly forms a resultative clause?
"So...that" is correct because "tightly coupled" functions as an adjective phrase (past participle used adjectivally), and "so" directly precedes adjectives. "Such" (option A) would require a noun phrase, not an adjective. "Too...to" (option C) expresses a different meaning — excess preventing an action, using an infinitive rather than a result clause — and doesn't fit the "that" clause structure. "As...as" (option D) forms a comparison, not a result.
4 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses a resultative "so that" clause to express purpose/result in a code comment (note: "so that" here differs from "so...that")?
"So that" functions as a single subordinating conjunction introducing purpose or intended result, and should not be split or duplicated. Option A is correctly formed. Option B incorrectly separates "so" and "that" around the object. Option C adds unnecessary commas that disrupt the clause. Option D duplicates "that", which is a common error when writers confuse this pattern with the "so...that" degree construction.
5 / 5
A code review comment reads: "There were _____ many retries configured _____ the circuit breaker never actually opened." Which pair is grammatically correct for this quantity-based resultative clause?
"So...that" is correct before a quantifier + plural noun combination like so many retries that... — "so" modifies the quantifier "many" directly. "Such" (option A) would need to precede the full noun phrase without "many" doing the modifying work in the same way (such a number of retries would work, but not with "many" retained this way). "Too" (option C) changes the meaning to excess preventing something, and typically pairs with an infinitive, not "that". "As" (option D) does not form this resultative pattern.