Using "that"-clause for a cause-effect statement

Question

Not the "...so....that..." which is the common use, like this,

"He was so heartbroken that he jumped off the cliff."

But, if we just say,

"He was heartbroken that he jumped off the cliff."

Is it grammatical? I know I use it in speech, but I'm not sure in written form if it is seen as proper English. I'm thinking of another example for comparison using not an adjective but an action word (verb):

"His girlfriend broke up with him abruptly that he jumped off the cliff."

Is it good/acceptable English construct? Is using only "that" also gives the effect as you would "so...that"? Thanks a million.

Raen

Philip · Accepted Answer

In sentences like these, I would not use "that" without "so" before the adjective or adverb.

Thomas Tompion · Answer

You need the so, Raen. Without it the sentence isn't idiomatic in British English.

Raen · Answer

Thank you very much Philip and Thomas for verifying that, I really appreciate it.

Raen

Raen · Answer

Hi again, I thought I'd just simply add "so" in the sentnece but, for some reason it just didn't look right. So I'm here again asking for help.

The sentence that started this thread is this,

"She seems to disregard human's capacity to independently and genuinly experience reality, enjoy pleasure and store memories that we have to rely on human invention (cameras) to solidify such capacity".(Jing M., Pro. P-A Eng.101)

By adding "so", the focuse of the whole sentence seem to shift to the dependent clause and the rest becomes sencondary. But that's not my intention. At most, the 2 parts (independent and dependent clauses) should be of equal importance. How do I do that, is this sentence the way it is clear and correct sematically and syntactically? Thanks.

Raen

Using "that"-clause for a cause-effect statement

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