Question

Complete the sentence using the correct word from the options:
He is so weak ________ he cannot walk.
A) but
B) that
C) then
D) so

Answer 1

Hint: Read each option with the sentence and familiarize which sentence has the right meaning. Once you understand what that sentence means, you can automatically choose the right option. Remember that ‘so’ is there in the first part of the sentence, now check which option suits best with ‘so’, considering that after ‘so’ clause, always a purpose or reason must follow it.

Complete answer:
When we need to find out which conjunction suits that blank better, we need to always understand what the sentence would mean regardless. So after reading it a few times we now know that it means that the person is not able to walk, because he is extremely weak.

Considering the options in the given order;
Option (A) but; this is incorrect because the meaning of the sentence won’t make sense. It is said that the person is very weak, then it implies that he won’t be able to walk, so when we use ‘but’ it is very much contradicting the statement.
Option (B) that; this is correct since the subordinate conjunction ‘so-that’ links the two clauses perfectly. The first part indicates the reason and the second part is the action, they can be linked by ‘so-that’.
Option (C) then; this is incorrect as ‘then’ suggests a time clause which is unnecessary here. We already know he is very weak, ‘then’ suggests that it is happening in the future but that is not the case here.
Option (D) so; this is incorrect because it slightly changes the meaning of the sentence. Here the meaning they are trying to give is that the person is too weak to walk, not that a weak person need not be able to walk. Also ‘so-so’ is not a right conjunction.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: In our daily life we make use of a lot of different sentences and unknowingly we use different prepositions and conjunctions. Similarly, we have made use of a particular common conjunction ‘so that’. Let us see where else we generally make use of this combinative conjunction: ‘so that’;
- The real format of using the ‘so-that’ clause is in this way:
An action clause + so that + a purpose clause
- So generally when we talk about something we are doing or something that is happening, we can say that is in going on in order to make that purpose mentioned in the second part of the sentence, happen.
- Remember that generally ‘so that’ is followed by subject + modal.
- Example: I went for a crash course so that I could do well for my JEE exam.