Question

He is too weak to walk. This sentence can also be expressed as ______.

• A. He is weak so that he cannot walk
• B. He is so weak that he cannot walk
• C. He is too weak that he cannot walk
• D. He is very weak to walk

Answer 1

Answer:

B. He is so weak that he cannot walk

Understanding the 'Too...to' Construction

• The structure 'too + adjective/adverb + to + infinitive' is used to express a negative consequence. It indicates that the degree of the adjective or adverb is so great that the action in the infinitive cannot be performed.
• Example: She is too young to drive. (This implies she cannot drive because she is too young.)

Transforming 'Too...to' to 'So...that'

• The sentence structure 'so + adjective/adverb + that + subject + cannot/could not + verb' is an equivalent way to express the same meaning.
• This construction explicitly states the cause (the degree of the adjective/adverb) and the effect (the inability to perform the action).
• The transformation involves:
  • Replacing 'too' with 'so'.
  • Adding 'that' after the adjective/adverb.
  • Introducing the subject of the original sentence.
  • Adding 'cannot' (for present tense) or 'could not' (for past tense) followed by the base form of the verb (infinitive without 'to').

Applying the Transformation

• Original sentence: He is too weak to walk.
• Here, 'too' modifies 'weak'. The infinitive is 'to walk'.
• Transformation steps:
  • Replace 'too' with 'so': He is so weak...
  • Add 'that' and the subject: He is so weak that he...
  • Add the negative auxiliary verb and the base verb: He is so weak that he cannot walk.

Key Points for Competitive Exams

• This type of sentence transformation is a common topic in English grammar sections of competitive exams.
• Recognizing the equivalence between 'too...to' and 'so...that...not' structures is crucial for comprehension and accurate sentence construction.
• Pay attention to the tense agreement when transforming: if the original sentence is in the past tense (e.g., He was too weak to walk), the transformed sentence will use 'could not' (He was so weak that he could not walk).
• Other related structures include 'enough...to' which expresses a positive capability (He is strong enough to lift the box), and its equivalent 'so...that' structure (He is so strong that he can lift the box).