Extreme Results: So... that
When you want to describe an extreme situation and its inevitable result—like "it is so big that it is scary"—Spanish pairs tan or tanto with the word que (that).
Tan ... que (So ... that)
Use tan before an adjective to express that something is "so [adjective] that...". Tan never changes form.
| Hey, you are so silly that you embarrass me. | Oye, eres tan tonta que me das vergüenza. |
| The ocean is so immense that it terrifies me. | El océano es tan inmenso que me da terror. |
If you want to say "such a [adjective] [noun]" (like "such tremendous madness"), Spanish flips the English word order. You will use un/una [noun] tan [adjective].
| The project is such tremendous madness that we are desperate. | El proyecto es una locura tan tremenda que estamos desesperados. |
Tanto ... que (So much / So many ... that)
When you are talking about quantities of a noun (like "so much terror" or "so many jokes"), use tanto. Because it introduces a noun, it must match that noun in gender and number (tanto, tanta, tantos, tantas).
| The dog feels so much terror that it is desperate. | El perro siente tanto terror que está desesperado. |
Verb + Tanto que (Doing something so much that...)
To say that an action happens "so much that" it causes a result, simply place tanto que right after the verb. When used this way, tanto does not change form regardless of who is performing the action.
| She says that the boss exaggerates so much that she feels embarrassed. | Ella dice que la jefa exagera tanto que siente vergüenza. |
