Would You Go Back? (so / such)

Would You Go Back?

So good!

Such a shame!

B1 · 60 minutes

Before you book

Task In pairs. Answer the questions.

Do you read reviews before you book a hotel or a restaurant? Where do you read them?

1

Do you ever write reviews? Why, or why not?

2

What's the best place you've ever stayed or eaten? And the worst?

3

Happy or unhappy?

Task Here are the titles of four online reviews. Is each reviewer happy or unhappy? Guess.

1

a seaside hotel

Pack a small suitcase

2

a restaurant

Bring a book

happy

unhappy

happy

unhappy

3

a day trip by bus

4

an escape room

Where was the waterfall?

Don't plan a quiet evening

happy

unhappy

happy

unhappy

Four reviews

Task Read the four reviews. Were your guesses right?

A

Pack a small suitcase

AnaTravels

B

Where was the waterfall?

Bea_M

Our room was so small we couldn't open both suitcases at the same time. Who cares? It had a balcony over the sea. The staff were so friendly that we didn't want to leave, and the breakfast was so good! We've already booked for next summer.

The good news first: we had such good weather that the driver took us to the lake as well. That was the best hour of the day. In the old town, the guide spoke so quickly that half of us missed the jokes. At the waterfall, there were so many people that we couldn't see it. I came home with forty photos of other people's heads. Not for me.

J

Bring a book

Joon-ho P.

O

Don't plan a quiet evening

Olumide K.

We booked a table for eight o'clock. It was such a long wait we nearly left before the food came: our soup and pasta arrived at half past nine, and the pasta was cold. There was so much salt in the soup that I couldn't finish it. The waiter said sorry many times, and the chocolate cake was excellent. But what a shame: it was such a disappointing meal.

Six of us tried this escape room for a friend's birthday. It's hard to find: we walked past the door twice. But it had such clever puzzles that nobody looked at a phone for an hour. We got out with one minute left and shouted so loudly that the next group came to see what was wrong. We had such a lovely evening!

Good or bad?

Task In pairs. Which place is each row about? Find what went well or badly there and complete the row.

Went well

Went badly

1

a balcony over the sea

2

the guide talked very fast

3

nobody looked at a phone for an hour

4

an hour and a half of waiting for food

Talk about it

Task In pairs. Answer the questions, then tell the class.

Which of the four places would you most like to try? Why?

1

Which review is the most useful for someone who's deciding whether to go? Which is the least useful? Why?

2

Look again

Task Look again at the reviews. Which is correct?

1

AnaTravels The staff were __________ friendly that we didn't want to leave.

so

such

2

Olumide K. We had __________ evening!

a such lovely

such a lovely

so lovely

3

Bea_M We had __________ weather that the driver took us to the lake.

such a good

such good

4

Bea_M At the waterfall, there were __________ people that we couldn't see it.

such many

so many

The rules

Task In pairs. Complete the rules: choose A or B. For rule 4, find one result in the reviews with that and one without.

1

so is followed by…

2

such is followed by…

A

a / an + a noun

A

a noun, with or without an adjective

B

an adjective or an adverb, or much / many + a noun

B

an adjective on its own

3

With a singular noun, a / an comes…

4

In the result part, that is…

A

after such

A

always needed

B

before such

B

possible to leave out

Say it

Task Listen and repeat. Then say each sentence to your partner.

1

The breakfast was so good!

2

It was such a long wait.

The staff were so friendly that we didn't want to leave.

3

4

We had such a lovely evening!

Grammar reference

so

such

The result: (that) + subject + verb

The staff were so friendly that we didn't want to leave.

It was such a long wait we nearly left.

Same meaning with or without that; without it is more informal.

so + adjective or adverb

The staff were so friendly.

The guide spoke so quickly.

such a / an + (adjective) + one countable thing

It was such a long wait.

such an amazing view

so much + uncountable noun

There was so much salt in the soup.

such + (adjective) + plural or uncountable noun (weather, advice…), no a / an

such clever puzzles

such good weather

so many + plural noun

There were so many people.

CAREFUL

very can't take a result: It was very noisy that we left is wrong; say so noisy that.

too means more than is good: The room was too small to work in (a problem). The room was so small that I worked in the café (very small, and here's what happened).

Not: The hotel was too nice! Say: so nice!

(Also so little time, so few people.)

No a / an

No result

these nouns are uncountable: weather, food, service, advice, luggage, scenery, news. But We had such a good time is correct.

an exclamation: The breakfast was so good!

It was such a disappointing meal.

So, such or such a?

Task A friend is back from a weekend away. Choose so, such or such a.

1

We had __________ terrible weather on Saturday that we stayed in the hotel all day.

so

such

such a

2

The town was __________ beautiful!

so

such

such a

3

It was __________ noisy room that I didn't sleep at all.

so

such

such a

4

There were __________ many steps up to the castle that I had to stop three times.

so

such

such a

5

It was __________ busy weekend that I need another holiday!

so

such

such a

6

The woman at the tourist office gave us __________ useful advice.

so

such

such a

Spot the mistake

Task Readers left these comments under the reviews. Five have a mistake and two are right. Correct the mistakes.

1

I stayed there last year and it was a such nice hotel.

2

I agree about the bus tour. The guide was very fast that I understood nothing.

3

We had such a good time in that escape room.

4

The view from the lake is such beautiful.

5

We had such a bad weather on our trip.

6

There was such nice view from the balcony that we had breakfast there every day.

7

There were so many people at the waterfall on Sunday too.

Make it one sentence

Task These are notes for more reviews. Make each one into one sentence with the word in brackets and a result. You can leave out that.

1

The film was very long. I fell asleep twice.

The market had a lot of stalls. We couldn't see them all in one day.

such

2

so

Our luggage was very heavy. The taxi driver couldn't lift it.

3

such

4

The concert was noisy, so we left early.

so

The view was very beautiful. We stayed for an hour.

5

such

6

The guide spoke very slowly. We understood every word.

so

7

There was a lot of traffic in the town centre. We walked everywhere.

so

Great or terrible?

Task Tell the story of a real experience. Can your partner guess if it was great or terrible?

Choose a trip, a meal, a concert or a day out, not one you talked about earlier. Make notes: four things that happened. Choose things that could be good or bad: The band played so loudly that we couldn't talk.

1

2

Write a sentence for each one with so or such and a result. Don't use words like great, terrible, loved or hated.

3

Tell your partner your story. Don't say if you loved it or hated it.

4

Your partner asks you one question, then guesses: great or terrible? Were they right?

Homework

Task A The restaurant has replied to Joon-ho's review. Complete the reply with so, such, such a, so much or so many. You can use each one more than once.

Task B Complete the results with your own ideas.

Reply from the restaurant

1

The hotel Wi-Fi was so slow that __________.

Thank you for your review, Joon-ho. We're (1) __________ sorry about your evening. Saturday was (2) __________ busy night. We had sixty orders at eight o'clock: there were (3) __________ that the kitchen couldn't keep up. Our new cook added the salt twice: there was (4) __________ in the soup that we checked the recipe the next day. We're glad you liked the cake. It's (5) __________ popular dessert that we sometimes sell out by nine. Our waiters are usually (6) __________ friendly people, and our cooks are (7) __________ careful that Saturday was a surprise for all of us. Next time, the cake is on us!

2

It was such a hot day that __________.

3

There were so many people on the train that __________.

The museum guide told such funny stories that __________.

4

5

The pizza was so big that __________.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

HAPPY OR UNHAPPY?

Happy 1 (hotel), 4 (escape room)

Unhappy 2 (restaurant), 3 (bus tour: the lake was the only good part)

THE RULES

1 B: an adjective or an adverb, or much / many + a noun

2 A: a noun, with or without an adjective

3 A: after such

4 B: possible to leave out

• With that · so friendly that we didn't want to leave; so much salt in the soup that I couldn't finish it; such good weather that the driver took us; so quickly that half of us missed the jokes; so many people that we couldn't see it; such clever puzzles that nobody looked; so loudly that the next group came

• Without that · so small we couldn't open both suitcases; such a long wait we nearly left

GOOD OR BAD?

1 hotel · went badly: the room was very small (they couldn't open both suitcases)

2 bus tour · went well: the good weather; the extra trip to the lake

3 escape room · went badly: it was hard to find (they walked past the door twice)

4 restaurant · went well: the chocolate cake (also accept: the waiter said sorry)

SO, SUCH OR SUCH A?

1 such

2 so

3 such a

4 so

5 such a

6 such

LOOK AGAIN

1 so

2 such a lovely

3 such good

4 so many

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

SPOT THE MISTAKE

Right 3, 7

1 it was such a nice hotel. (a very nice hotel is also correct, but use such)

2 The guide was so fast that I understood nothing. (or: The guide spoke so quickly that…)

4 The view from the lake is so beautiful. (or: It's such a beautiful view.)

5 We had such bad weather on our trip. (very bad weather is also correct, but use such)

6 There was such a nice view from the balcony that we had breakfast there every day.

MAKE IT ONE SENTENCE (CONT.)

5 It was such a beautiful view that we stayed for an hour.

6 The guide spoke so slowly that we understood every word.

7 There was so much traffic in the town centre that we walked everywhere.

HOMEWORK (A)

1 so

2 such a

3 so many

4 so much

5 such a

6 such

7 so

MAKE IT ONE SENTENCE that can be left out in every answer

1 It was such a long film that I fell asleep twice.

2 The market had so many stalls that we couldn't see them all in one day. (or: There were so many stalls at the market that…)

3 We had such heavy luggage that the taxi driver couldn't lift it. (or: It was such heavy luggage that…)

4 The concert was so noisy that we left early.

HOMEWORK (B) possible answers

1 …I couldn't send my photos.

2 …we stayed in the pool all afternoon.

3 …we had to stand all the way.

4 …we laughed all the way round.

5 …we took half of it home.