So vs. Such – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A1-star TripAdvisor review exposing a hotel’s terrible soundproofing.
Read the angry tourist’s hotel review below. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence accurately.
1 “Do not book this place! The walls separating the rooms are ______ thin that I could literally hear the person next door breathing.”
(a) so
(b) such
(c) such a
(d) very
2 “The couple staying in Room 304 was ______ loud that I felt like they were sitting right on the edge of my bed.”
(a) too
(b) so
(c) such
(d) such a
3 “It was ______ miserable night that I ended up checking out and leaving the hotel at 4:00 AM.”
(a) so a
(b) such
(c) such a
(d) so
4 “The hotel’s overall soundproofing is ______ terrible that you can hear every single footstep from the floor above you.”
(a) so
(b) very
(c) such
(d) too
5 “They were playing ______ terrible music next door that the bass actually shook my bathroom mirror.”
(a) such a
(b) so
(c) such
(d) so much
6 “By midnight, I was ______ desperate for sleep that I seriously tried sleeping inside the empty bathtub.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) such a
(d) very
7 “The night manager was ______ useless when I called to complain that he just sighed and hung up on me.”
(a) too
(b) such
(c) so
(d) so a
8 “When I went downstairs, he offered me ______ pathetic excuse about it being a ‘lively neighborhood’ that I almost screamed.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) so a
(d) such a
9 “The wooden floorboards in the hallway are ______ squeaky that anyone walking past wakes up the entire floor.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) very
(d) such a
10 “I got ______ little sleep during my stay here that I had to cancel my expensive city tour the next day.”
(a) so
(b) such
(c) too
(d) such a
11 “Even the plumbing system is ______ noisy that a flushing toilet sounds exactly like a jet engine taking off.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) too
(d) such a
12 “They had ______ many people crammed into the adjacent room that it sounded like a nightclub was operating next door.”
(a) so
(b) such
(c) very
(d) such a
13 “The situation became ______ unbearable by 2:00 AM that I marched to the reception and demanded a full refund.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) very
(d) too
14 “The morning receptionist had ______ arrogant attitude that she completely refused to call the noisy guests to quiet down.”
(a) such a
(b) so an
(c) such an
(d) so
15 “The doors in this building are made of ______ cheap material that they slam shut with an explosive force.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) such a
(d) so much
16 “I have never felt ______ exhausted after a so-called ‘relaxing holiday’ in my entire life.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) such an
(d) too
17 “Additionally, there was ______ much construction noise from the street that keeping the window open was impossible.”
(a) such
(b) such much
(c) so
(d) very
18 “It genuinely baffles me how a place with ______ paper-thin walls received a 4-star rating on this website.”
(a) so
(b) such a
(c) such
(d) so much
19 “To make matters worse, the air conditioning unit was ______ loud that it sounded like a broken tractor.”
(a) such
(b) so
(c) too
(d) such a
20 “Booking this specific hotel was ______ massive mistake that I will never trust online reviews blindly again.”
(a) such a
(b) so a
(c) such
(d) so
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) so
- Why it is correct: “Thin” is an adjective standing alone, describing “The walls”. The structure The [noun] + verb + SO + [adjective] + that is perfect for targeting a specific flaw.
- Error Analysis: (b) such (Structural Error – requires a noun); (c) such a (Structural Error); (d) very (Meaning Trap – ‘very’ does not grammatically connect to the ‘that’ result clause).
2 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Loud” is a standalone adjective describing the couple. So + Adjective + That.
- Error Analysis: (a) too (Meaning Trap – ‘too’ pairs with ‘to’, not ‘that’); (c) such (Structural Error); (d) such a (Structural Error).
3 (c) such a
- Why it is correct: “Night” is a singular countable noun. The formula switches to Such + a/an + Adjective + Singular Noun.
- Error Analysis: (a) so a (Structural Error); (b) such (Common Mistake – missing the article ‘a’); (d) so (Structural Error).
4 (a) so
- Why it is correct: “Terrible” is a standalone adjective describing the soundproofing.
- Error Analysis: (b) very (Meaning Trap); (c) such (Structural Error); (d) too (Meaning Trap).
5 (c) such
- Why it is correct: “Music” is an uncountable noun. Such + Adjective + Uncountable Noun.
- Error Analysis: (a) such a (Common Mistake – ‘music’ cannot take an article); (b) so (Structural Error); (d) so much (Meaning Trap – we are criticizing the quality of the music here, not just the volume/quantity, so ‘such terrible music’ is the most natural fit).
6 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Desperate” is an adjective standing alone.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) such a (Structural Error); (d) very (Meaning Trap).
7 (c) so
- Why it is correct: “Useless” is a standalone adjective targeting the night manager.
- Error Analysis: (a) too (Meaning Trap); (b) such (Structural Error); (d) so a (Structural Error).
8 (d) such a
- Why it is correct: “Excuse” is a singular countable noun. Such + a/an + Adjective + Singular Noun.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Common Mistake – missing ‘a’); (b) so (Structural Error); (c) so a (Structural Error).
9 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Squeaky” is an adjective describing the floorboards.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) very (Meaning Trap); (d) such a (Structural Error).
10 (a) so
- Why it is correct: “Little” acts as a quantifier here (a small amount of sleep). So + little + uncountable noun.
- Error Analysis: (b) such (Common Mistake); (c) too (Meaning Trap); (d) such a (Structural Error).
11 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Noisy” is an adjective describing the plumbing system.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) too (Meaning Trap); (d) such a (Structural Error).
12 (a) so
- Why it is correct: “Many” is a quantifier used with the plural noun “people”. So + many + plural noun.
- Error Analysis: (b) such (Common Mistake); (c) very (Structural Error); (d) such a (Structural Error).
13 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Unbearable” is a standalone adjective.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) very (Meaning Trap); (d) too (Meaning Trap).
14 (c) such an
- Why it is correct: “Attitude” is a singular countable noun. “Arrogant” begins with a vowel sound.
- Error Analysis: (a) such a (Common Mistake); (b) so an (Structural Error); (d) so (Structural Error).
15 (a) such
- Why it is correct: “Material” in this context acts as an uncountable noun. Such + Adjective + Uncountable Noun.
- Error Analysis: (b) so (Structural Error); (c) such a (Common Mistake); (d) so much (Meaning Trap).
16 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Exhausted” is a standalone adjective describing how the speaker felt.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) such an (Structural Error); (d) too (Meaning Trap).
17 (c) so
- Why it is correct: “Much” is a quantifier emphasizing the volume of “noise” (uncountable). So + much + uncountable noun.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Common Mistake); (b) such much (Structural Error – ‘such’ is never paired with ‘much’); (d) very (Structural Error).
18 (c) such
- Why it is correct: “Walls” is a plural countable noun. Such + Adjective + Plural Noun.
- Error Analysis: (a) so (Structural Error); (b) such a (Common Mistake – cannot use ‘a’ with plural nouns); (d) so much (Structural Error).
19 (b) so
- Why it is correct: “Loud” is a standalone adjective describing the AC unit.
- Error Analysis: (a) such (Structural Error); (c) too (Meaning Trap); (d) such a (Structural Error).
20 (a) such a
- Why it is correct: “Mistake” is a singular countable noun. Such + a/an + Adjective + Singular Noun.
- Error Analysis: (b) so a (Structural Error); (c) such (Common Mistake – missing the article); (d) so (Structural Error).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When writing a review (whether complaining about a hotel, a restaurant, or a product), mastering the So vs. Such structures allows you to pinpoint exactly what went wrong and emphasize how bad it was:
- Targeting the Flaw (The [Noun] was SO [Adjective]):
- If you want to attack a specific feature of the service, name the feature, use the verb to be, and amplify the adjective with SO.
- Example: The walls were so thin. The manager was so useless.
- Summarizing the Disaster (SUCH A/AN + Noun):
- If you want to summarize the entire experience or label the hotel with a harsh title, use SUCH.
- Example: It was such a miserable night. It was such a massive mistake.
- Emphasizing the Consequence (The “That” Clause):
- A1-star review needs to show why the flaw mattered. Both So and Such perfectly connect to a that clause to explain the disastrous result.
- Formula: The AC was so loud THAT I couldn’t sleep.
- Warning: Never use very or too if you are going to use a that clause to explain the result.