Result Clauses: si...que, tellement...que, si bien que
Result Clauses: si...que, tellement...que, si bien que
French wraps 'so...that' around a single adjective, or links two whole events with 'so that' — both stay safely in the indicatif, unlike most of the subjonctif triggers around them, and both map onto English almost word for word.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
si + adjective + que / tellement + que: so...that
Il est si fatigué qu'il s'endort. (He's so tired that he's falling asleep)
He's so tired that he's falling asleep.
si...que (formal/written) and tellement...que (more spoken and everyday) both wrap around an adjective or adverb to build 'so [adjective] that [result]', a near-literal match for English 'so...that'; with a noun instead, switch to tellement de + noun + que (il y avait tellement de bruit qu'on ne s'entendait pas — 'there was so much noise that we couldn't hear each other'), again mirroring English 'so much/so many...that'. Unlike the subjonctif triggers elsewhere in this course, the result clause after que here stays in the indicatif (s'endort, not s'endorme) — exactly as English keeps its own result clause in the ordinary indicative ('so tired that he falls asleep', no special verb form needed).
si bien que: a connector for 'with the result that' — and a trap hiding in English 'so that'
Il a plu toute la nuit, si bien que la rivière a débordé. (It rained all night, so that the river overflowed)
It rained all night, so that the river overflowed.
si bien que links two full clauses to report one event as the natural consequence of another, like English 'so that' or 'with the result that' used for a result. The trap: English 'so that' is ambiguous — it can mean pure result ('it rained all night, so that the river overflowed') or intended purpose ('I studied hard so that I'd pass'), and French refuses to blur that line. Result reaches for si bien que and stays indicative; purpose reaches for pour que and requires the subjonctif (covered in Lesson 46). Whenever you're tempted to translate an English 'so that', pause and ask whether it's describing a consequence that already happened or a goal someone was aiming for — the answer decides which French construction to use.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| si...que | see kuh | so...that |
| tellement...que | tel-MAHN kuh | so...that (spoken) |
| tellement de | tel-MAHN duh | so much / so many |
| si bien que | see byahn kuh | so that / with the result that |
| Il fait si froid qu'on ne sort pas. | eel feh see frwah kohn nuh sor pah | It's so cold that no one goes out. |
| Elle avait tellement de travail qu'elle n'a pas dormi. | el ah-veh tel-MAHN duh trah-VYE kel nah pah dor-MEE | She had so much work that she didn't sleep. |