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Quedé tan aturdido por el tumulto que olvidé mi lista.

Quedé tan aturdido por el tumulto que olvidé mi lista.
I was so dazed by the crowd that I forgot my list.
From Lesson 314:Extreme intensity (tan / tanto que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Quedé tan aturdido por el tumulto que olvidé mi lista.

Why do we use tan here instead of tanto?
Because it comes right before an adjective (aturdido). The structure tan + [adjective/adverb] + que means "so [blank] that". You only use tanto (and its variations like tanta or tantos) when you are describing the quantity of a noun, like in tanto ruido que (so much noise that).
Why does the Spanish use quedé instead of estaba for "I was"?
While estaba means "I was" as an ongoing background state, quedar (or the reflexive quedarse) expresses the result of an event. It translates closer to "I ended up" or "I was left". Using quedé aturdido emphasizes that the crowd actively caused you to change state and become dazed.
I usually translate "crowd" as multitud. Does tumulto mean the exact same thing?
Not quite! While multitud is a neutral word for a large group of people, tumulto specifically implies chaos, noise, or disorder (a commotion or uproar). This chaotic nature is exactly why the speaker ended up aturdido (dazed or overwhelmed).
Could I also say me olvidé de mi lista instead of olvidé mi lista?
Yes, absolutely. Olvidar + [direct object] and olvidarse de + [object] mean the exact same thing. Olvidé mi lista is a bit more standard in writing, while me olvidé de mi lista is extremely common in everyday speech. Just remember that if you use the reflexive me olvidé, you must include the preposition de.
A quick refresher: why is por used here instead of para?
We use por to indicate the cause, motive, or reason for a situation. The speaker is dazed because of or by the crowd. If you used para, it would imply a purpose or goal, which doesn't make sense here.

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