Using SO and SUCH

This frozen yogurt was SO yummy. It was SUCH a treat at the end of a long day.

We often use SO or SUCH when we want to intensify our descriptions and opinions of people or things. For example, we say, "This is SUCH a good restaurant. Their food is SO delicious." Another example: The students worked SO hard and did SUCH a great job.

Because these two words are quite common, learning how to use them correctly is a very good idea. It can easily and suddenly come in handy when you're talking to someone. Fortunately, the rules are not difficult at all.

• COME IN HANDY - be useful; be ready to use 

Basically, we use SO with adjectives.

1. She is SO happy.
2. It was SO hot and humid!
3. They were SO surprised.
4. The movie was SO boring.
5. He is SO smart.

On the other hand, we use SUCH when it is followed by a noun.

1. She is SUCH a happy person.
2. It was SUCH a hot and humid day.
3. She had SUCH a surprised look on her face.
4. It was SUCH a boring movie.
5. He is SUCH a smart guy.

One thing to keep in mind is to remember to use an article (a or an) with SUCH when the noun is singular and countable. As always, we don't use articles when the noun is noncountable or in the plural.

1. It was SUCH an expensive gift that Maria decided she couldn't accept it.
2. Some guests were so late because they had to drive through SUCH heavy traffic.
3. Paula received SUCH thoughtful gifts from her coworkers.

That's it! Simple, isn't it? Now that you know how to use SO and SUCH correctly, use them as much as you can!


Keep practicing!

-- Joe Yu, ESL instructor