Result: ώστε, έτσι που | Greek Grammar

A result clause answers “what followed from that?” Greek can assert the consequence as a fact, present it as a possible or construed outcome, or build it as the second half of a degree expression. The difficult point is ώστε να: it can express either an intended outcome or a result, so mood by itself never settles the interpretation.

ώστε plus indicative: an asserted consequence

With an indicative, ώστε presents the consequence as something the speaker asserts actually happened or holds. This pattern is common in careful writing (formal), although it also occurs in deliberate speech.

Η βροχή δυνάμωσε, ώστε αναγκαστήκαμε να γυρίσουμε.

i vrochí dhinámose, óste anagastíkame na yirísume

The rain intensified, so that we were forced to turn back. (formal)

Μίλησε τόσο σιγά, ώστε σχεδόν δεν τον ακούσαμε.

mílise tóso sighá, óste schedhón dhen ton akúsame

He spoke so quietly that we could barely hear him. (formal)

The indicative matters because the consequence is placed in the factual record. English often uses plain so or so…that here; Greek formal prose can make the logical link more explicit with ώστε.

ώστε να: a contemplated or construed result

With να, the result is viewed as a possibility, threshold, suitability, or consequence from someone's perspective rather than simply filed as a fact.

Δεν είναι τόσο απρόσεκτος, ώστε να ξεχάσει τα κλειδιά πάνω στην πόρτα.

dhen íne tóso aprósektos, óste na ksechási ta klidhiá páno stin pórta

He isn't so careless as to leave the keys in the door.

Η πόρτα ήταν πολύ στενή, ώστε να μην περνάει ο καναπές.

i pórta ítan polí stení, óste na min pernái o kanapés

The doorway was too narrow for the sofa to pass through.

In the first, forgetting is rejected as a plausible consequence of his character. In the second, the blocked passage is construed as the consequence of the dimensions. The να-construction does not necessarily deny that the result was real; it changes how the speaker frames it.

💡

Use this diagnostic: ώστε + indicative answers “what actually followed?”; ώστε να often answers “what result became possible, impossible, suitable, or relevant from this viewpoint?” This is a meaning contrast, not merely a tense rule.

έτσι που and με αποτέλεσμα να

Έτσι που introduces a consequence in everyday narrative. It is lighter and more conversational than factual ώστε.

Τράβηξε την καρέκλα απότομα, έτσι που έπεσε το ποτήρι.

trávikse tin karékla apótoma, étsi pu épese to potíri

He pulled the chair away suddenly, causing the glass to fall.

Με αποτέλεσμα να literally means “with the result that.” It is frequent in reports, news, academic prose, and explanations (formal). The formula already supplies the result meaning, while να introduces the consequence clause.

Έβρεχε όλη νύχτα, με αποτέλεσμα να πλημμυρίσει ο δρόμος.

évreche óli níchta, me apotélezma na plimirísi o dhrómos

It was raining all night, with the result that the road flooded. (formal)

The construction is especially useful when the writer wants to avoid implying intention. A storm has no purpose; με αποτέλεσμα να makes the causal consequence explicit.

Degree plus που or ώστε

Greek commonly builds results with a degree word in the first clause and που or ώστε in the second:

τόσο + adjective/adverb + που/ώστε: so … that
τόσος + noun + που/ώστε: so much/many … that
τέτοιος + noun + που/ώστε: such … that

Ήταν τόσο κουρασμένη που κοιμήθηκε με τα ρούχα.

ítan tóso kurazméni pu kimíthike me ta rúcha

She was so tired that she fell asleep in her clothes.

Έκανε τέτοια φασαρία, ώστε βγήκαν οι γείτονες στα μπαλκόνια.

ékane tétia fasaría, óste vyíkan i yítones sta balkónia

She made such a racket that the neighbours came out onto their balconies. (formal)

Plain που is the normal conversational choice. Ώστε sounds more explicitly logical and is favored in careful prose. Agreement in τόσος and τέτοιος belongs to τέτοιος and τόσος; the larger pairing system belongs to correlative constructions.

Why ώστε να overlaps with purpose

Compare a clearly intended goal, a clearly asserted result, and an ambiguous design outcome:

Άνοιξε το παράθυρο για να μπει καθαρός αέρας.

ánikse to paráthiro ya na bi katharós aéras

She opened the window so that fresh air could enter. (purpose)

Χαμήλωσε τόσο τη μουσική, ώστε το παιδί αποκοιμήθηκε.

chamílose tóso ti musikí, óste to pedhí apokimíthike

She turned the music down so much that the child fell asleep. (asserted result)

Άφησε αρκετό χώρο, ώστε να περάσει το καρότσι.

áfise arketó chóro, óste na perási to karótsi

She left enough room for the trolley to pass.

The last sentence can describe her intention or evaluate the space as sufficient. Nothing in ώστε να περάσει alone chooses between those readings. Context—whether the sentence is about her plan or about the consequence of the space she left—does. In the agent-controlled window example, για να clearly foregrounds purpose, but it is not a universal test: after degree or sufficiency expressions, για να can itself be resultative.

Είναι πολύ μικρός για να καταλάβει τι συνέβη.

íne polí mikrós ya na katalávi ti sinévi

He is too young to understand what happened. (result/threshold, not purpose)

💡

Do not translate English “so that” mechanically. If a person acts toward a goal, για να is the safest explicit purpose marker. If the first situation produces a consequence, choose factual ώστε, conversational έτσι που, or formal με αποτέλεσμα να.

Source-language comparison

English often leaves the distinction to context: I opened the window so that air could enter may describe intention or suitability. Greek can be equally ambiguous with ώστε να, but it also offers clearer defaults. In agent-controlled clauses, για να normally points to intention; in degree and sufficiency frames, it may instead express a result. Με αποτέλεσμα να points away from intention and toward an explicitly presented consequence, while ώστε + indicative asserts the result.

There is no honest one-word decision rule. You must identify whether the speaker is claiming a fact, evaluating a possible consequence, or reporting somebody's aim.

Common Mistakes

1. Putting ότι after με αποτέλεσμα. The fixed result expression selects να.

❌ Έβρεξε πολύ, με αποτέλεσμα ότι πλημμύρισε ο δρόμος.

Incorrect—με αποτέλεσμα is followed by να plus a conjugated verb.

✅ Έβρεξε πολύ, με αποτέλεσμα να πλημμυρίσει ο δρόμος.

évrekse polí, me apotélezma na plimirísi o dhrómos

It rained heavily, causing the road to flood.

2. Translating English “that” with ότι after τόσο. Degree-result clauses use που or ώστε, not the factual complementizer ότι.

❌ Ήταν τόσο κουρασμένος ότι αποκοιμήθηκε.

Incorrect—after τόσο, introduce the result with που or ώστε.

✅ Ήταν τόσο κουρασμένος που αποκοιμήθηκε.

ítan tóso kurazménos pu apokimíthike

He was so tired that he fell asleep.

3. Failing to make τέτοιος agree with its noun. Here θόρυβο is masculine accusative singular.

❌ Άκουσα τέτοια θόρυβο που πετάχτηκα από την καρέκλα.

Incorrect—θόρυβο is masculine accusative, so the agreeing form is τέτοιο.

✅ Άκουσα τέτοιο θόρυβο που πετάχτηκα από την καρέκλα.

ákusa tétio thórivo pu petáchtika apó tin karékla

I heard such a noise that I jumped out of my chair.

Key Takeaways

Ώστε + indicative asserts a factual consequence.
Ώστε να presents a contemplated, potential, sufficient, or perspective-dependent result.
Έτσι που is conversational; με αποτέλεσμα να is formal and explicitly consequential.
Τόσο/τέτοιος…που is the ordinary degree-result pattern.
Ώστε να can express an intended outcome, and για να can be resultative in degree frames, so context—not mood or linker alone—separates purpose from result.

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