Is "that" correctly used in "Peter was so excited that he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing."?

Question

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Compare your sentence with these (natural American English):

Peter was so excited because he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing. (tells why Peter was excited)
Peter was so excited when he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing that he jumped up and down and threw his hat in the air. (tells what he did upon receiving the invitation.)

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Grammatically, it looks ok. But semantically, it is not correct. " So that" is typically used to show a contrasting cause-and-effect context; i.e. She was so mad at him for cheating that she threw her engagement ring back at him. ".
Based on this interpretation, your sentence is just a statement of excitement which should read: "Peter was very excited to receive an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing.".

Wangqh2696122 · Answer

But, according to macmillan english dictionary, "that" seems can be used in this way. See:used when explaining why someone feels sad, angry, happy etcI’m sorry that I missed the first meeting.I am absolutely delighted that we achieved what we set out to do.http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/that

AlpheccaStars · Answer

wangqh2696122 But, according to macmillan english dictionary, "that" seems can be used in this way. See:used when explaining why someone feels sad, angry, happy etcI’m sorry that I missed the first meeting.I am absolutely delighted that we achieved what we set out to do.

Yes, that is true when the subject in the second clause is different from the main clause.
Also, the use of "so" changes the structure.

I was so happy / excited that you won the first prize. (OK)

But, when the subjects are the same, so...that changes the structure and meaning.

I was happy that I won first prize. (OK)

I was so happy that I cried for joy. (OK)

CalifJim · Answer

wangqh2696122 Is "that" correctly used in "Peter was so excited that he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing."?

"that" is OK, but there's a problem with "so". It is more natural to say,

Peter was very excited that he received ...

But it is even more natural to say,

Peter was very excited when he received ...
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1. "that" can indicate the cause of an emotional state:

Peter was sorry that he had said mean things to Susan.
Paul was very happy that his brother had won the prize.
Now that it's raining, Mary is thankful that she doesn't have to go shopping.

2. "so ... that" can indicate the result. "so" changes the meaning.

Peter was so sorry that he apologized.
Paul was so happy that he jumped up and down.
Mary is so thankful that she intends to write a letter of appreciation to her boss.
______________________________

Not all adjectives work equally well in these patterns. "excited that", for example, does not work well in pattern 1 even though it is grammatical. "excited when" works better.

CJ

Is "that" correctly used in "Peter was so excited that he received an invitation from his friend to visit Chongqing."?

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