A consecutive clause names the result of something: the cold caused the freezing, the lateness made going impossible. German has three main tools for this — the plain result conjunction sodass, the degree-emphasizing split so ... dass, and the negative-result zu ... als dass with Konjunktiv II — plus the infinitive variants zu ... um ... zu and genug ... um ... zu. The pieces look similar but encode different shades of meaning, and the line between result and purpose is exactly where English speakers slip. This page lays them out as a system.
sodass / so dass: plain result
sodass (also written so dass — both spellings are standard) introduces a subordinate clause stating what actually happened as a consequence. Like every subordinator, it sends the finite verb to the end of its clause. The result it names is a fact, so the verb stays in the indicative.
Es war eiskalt, sodass wir am ganzen Körper froren.
It was freezing cold, so that we shivered all over. (sodass + verb-final 'froren', actual result, indicative)
Der Zug hatte Verspätung, sodass ich den Anschluss verpasste.
The train was late, so that I missed the connection. (plain consecutive result)
Sie sprach sehr deutlich, sodass alle sie verstehen konnten.
She spoke very clearly, so that everyone could understand her. (result clause, verb-final 'konnten')
Think of sodass as the neutral, all-purpose "and as a result." It does not draw attention to how intense the cause was — it simply reports the consequence.
so + adjective/adverb + dass: emphasizing the degree
When you want to spotlight how much of something there was — so cold, so tired, so loudly — you split the connector. The so jumps forward to sit directly in front of the gradable word (an adjective or adverb) in the main clause, and dass alone opens the result clause.
Es war so kalt, dass wir am ganzen Körper froren.
It was SO cold that we shivered all over. (so + 'kalt' in the main clause; dass + verb-final 'froren')
Er hat so laut geschnarcht, dass niemand schlafen konnte.
He snored so loudly that nobody could sleep. (so modifies the adverb 'laut'; degree is foregrounded)
Die Aufgabe war so schwer, dass selbst die Lehrerin sie nicht lösen konnte.
The task was so hard that even the teacher couldn't solve it. (so + 'schwer'; emphatic degree)
The difference between Es war eiskalt, sodass wir froren and Es war so kalt, dass wir froren is one of focus, not grammar. The first reports a sequence of facts; the second says the coldness reached such a degree that freezing followed. In speech the so is often stressed. This mirrors English exactly — "so cold that ..." versus "cold, so that ..." — which makes it one of the easier pieces to get right, as long as you remember to drop the dass down to a single word once so has moved up.
A close cousin uses solch- (or so ein) with a noun: Sie hatte solche Angst, dass sie nicht schlafen konnte ("She was so afraid that she couldn't sleep"). The logic is identical — the degree word now attaches to a noun rather than an adjective.
The result–purpose trap: sodass vs damit / um ... zu
This is the single most common error English speakers make here, because English "so that" is ambiguous. Compare:
- "I left early so that I caught the train." → result (I actually caught it)
- "I left early so that I could catch the train." → purpose (my goal)
German keeps these apart with different words. Result = sodass. Purpose = damit (when subjects differ) or um ... zu (when they match). A result is something that happened; a purpose is something you were aiming at — it may or may not come true.
Ich bin früh losgefahren, sodass ich den Zug bekam.
I set off early, so that I caught the train. (RESULT — I actually caught it; sodass)
Ich bin früh losgefahren, damit ich den Zug bekomme.
I set off early so that I would catch the train. (PURPOSE — my goal; damit)
Ich bin früh losgefahren, um den Zug zu bekommen.
I set off early in order to catch the train. (PURPOSE, same subject; um ... zu)
zu ... als dass + Konjunktiv II: the impossible result
Now the construction the textbooks skip — and the most elegant of the set. zu + [adjective/adverb] + als dass expresses that something is too X for the consequence to happen. The result is presented as not occurring precisely because the cause is excessive, so the als dass clause takes Konjunktiv II (it describes an unreal, blocked outcome) and is verb-final.
Es ist zu spät, als dass wir noch losgehen könnten.
It's too late for us to still set off. (zu spät + als dass + Konjunktiv II 'könnten'; the setting-off does not happen)
Er ist zu jung, als dass er das schon verstehen könnte.
He is too young to understand that yet. (zu jung ... als dass + Konjunktiv II 'könnte')
Das Problem ist zu komplex, als dass man es in einem Satz erklären könnte.
The problem is too complex to be explained in a single sentence. (zu komplex ... als dass; impossible result, Konjunktiv II)
Notice what English does here: "too late for us to set off," "too young to understand." English crams the suppressed result into a clunky for ... to infinitive or a bare to-infinitive. German's als dass + Konjunktiv II is a single, transparent frame that says outright "the excess of X prevents Y." Once you have it, you will reach for it constantly in formal and written German — it sounds notably more sophisticated than a flat Es ist zu spät, wir gehen nicht mehr.
zu + adjective + um ... zu and genug ... um ... zu
When the blocked (or enabled) result has the same subject as the main clause, German prefers an infinitive construction instead of als dass:
- zu + [adjective] + um ... zu = "too X to do something"
- [adjective] + genug + um ... zu = "X enough to do something"
Ich bin zu müde, um heute noch zu arbeiten.
I'm too tired to work any more today. (zu müde + um ... zu; same subject 'ich')
Sie ist alt genug, um allein zu reisen.
She's old enough to travel alone. (adjective + genug + um ... zu)
Das Eis ist nicht dick genug, um darauf zu laufen.
The ice isn't thick enough to walk on. (negated 'genug ... um ... zu')
The choice between als dass and um ... zu is mostly about subjects, like the damit / um ... zu split for purpose. Same subject → um ... zu infinitive (cleaner, no need to repeat the subject). Different subjects → als dass with a finite Konjunktiv II clause: Das Eis ist zu dünn, als dass die Kinder darauf laufen könnten ("The ice is too thin for the children to walk on it"). With um ... zu you simply cannot change the subject — the infinitive has no room for a new one.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ich bin früh losgefahren, sodass ich den Zug bekomme.
Wrong — 'sodass' is for an actual result, but here you mean your goal; use 'damit' for purpose.
✅ Ich bin früh losgefahren, damit ich den Zug bekomme.
I set off early so that I'd catch the train. (purpose → damit)
❌ Es war so kalt, sodass wir froren.
Wrong — don't combine the split 'so' with the joined 'sodass'; pick one frame.
✅ Es war so kalt, dass wir froren.
It was so cold that we froze. (split so ... dass) — or: Es war eiskalt, sodass wir froren.
❌ Es ist zu spät, als dass wir noch losgehen können.
Wrong — 'als dass' names a blocked, unreal result and requires Konjunktiv II, not the indicative.
✅ Es ist zu spät, als dass wir noch losgehen könnten.
It's too late for us to still set off. (Konjunktiv II 'könnten')
❌ Ich bin zu müde, um ich arbeite heute.
Wrong — 'um ... zu' takes an infinitive with 'zu', never a finite clause with a subject.
✅ Ich bin zu müde, um heute noch zu arbeiten.
I'm too tired to work any more today. (um + zu-infinitive)
❌ Sie ist genug alt, um allein zu reisen.
Wrong word order — 'genug' follows the adjective: 'alt genug', not 'genug alt'.
✅ Sie ist alt genug, um allein zu reisen.
She's old enough to travel alone. (adjective + genug)
Key Takeaways
- sodass / so dass (both spellings fine) = plain actual result, verb-final, indicative.
- Split so + [adjective/adverb] + dass when you want to emphasize the degree ("SO cold that ...").
- Result (sodass) is not purpose (damit / um ... zu) — English "so that" hides this distinction; German never does.
- zu + [adjective] + als dass + Konjunktiv II = "too X for Y to happen," with the result blocked and therefore unreal (verb-final, könnte/könnten).
- Same subject → use the infinitive frames zu ... um ... zu ("too X to ...") and ... genug, um ... zu ("X enough to ..."); genug follows its adjective.
Now practice German
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning German→Related Topics
- Purpose and Result: damit, um...zu, sodassB2 — How German distinguishes intended purpose (damit, um...zu) from actual result (sodass) — and why the choice between damit and um...zu depends entirely on whether the two clauses share a subject.
- zu vs um...zu vs damit (purpose and complement)B2 — Three constructions learners confuse: plain zu for verb complements, um...zu for same-subject purpose, and damit for different-subject purpose.
- Konjunktiv II: Hypotheticals, Wishes, and PolitenessB1 — The German mood for the unreal — hypotheticals, wishes, and the everyday politeness behind hätte gern, könnten Sie, and würden Sie.
- Adverbial Subordinate ClausesB2 — Adverbial clauses express time, cause, concession, condition, purpose, result, and manner through subordinating conjunctions — all verb-final — and when fronted they fill the Vorfeld, so the main-clause verb comes right after the comma.
- Verb-Final Order in Subordinate ClausesB1 — Why a subordinating conjunction sends the finite verb to the very end of the clause — and why in compound tenses the auxiliary lands dead last.
- Two-Part (Correlative) ConjunctionsB2 — The paired connectors — entweder...oder, weder...noch, sowohl...als auch, nicht nur...sondern auch, je...desto — and their word-order surprises, including the unique verb-final je-clause.