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La chute a été tellement terrifiante que mon estomac a tourné.

La chute a été tellement terrifiante que mon estomac a tourné.
The drop was so terrifying that my stomach turned.
From Lesson 217:Intensity with adjectives (si / tellement... que)·French

Questions & Answers about La chute a été tellement terrifiante que mon estomac a tourné.

Could I use si instead of tellement in this sentence?
Yes! You can say La chute a été si terrifiante que... When modifying an adjective (like terrifiante) to mean "so [adjective] that", si and tellement are generally interchangeable in everyday French. Tellement can sometimes feel just a tiny bit stronger or more emphatic.
Why use the passé composé (a été) instead of the imparfait (était) for a description like "was terrifying"?
You could absolutely use était here if you were setting the scene for a longer story. However, using the passé composé (a été) treats the drop as a single, sudden, and completed event. It emphasizes the immediate cause-and-effect relationship: the quick drop happened, and as a direct result, the stomach turned.
Does la chute always refer to a "drop" on an amusement park ride?
Not exclusively! La chute generally means "the fall". It is used for a person falling down, a waterfall (une chute d'eau), the fall of an empire, or a steep drop on a roller coaster.
Why is there an -e at the end of terrifiante?
Because it is an adjective describing la chute (the drop/fall), which is a feminine noun. Even though it is separated from the noun by the verb and the word tellement, the adjective still needs to agree in gender and number with the subject it describes.
Is mon estomac a tourné a real French expression, or just a literal translation from English?
It translates perfectly! Just like in English, saying your stomach turned (l'estomac qui tourne) is a very natural and common way in French to express feeling suddenly nauseated from fear, motion, or disgust.

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