Result clauses

Result clauses

When you want to indicate the result of an action or situation, you can use a result clause. Result clauses are introduced by conjunctions such as so, so... that, or such … that.

• The lecture was boring and irrelevant, so some of the students began to fall asleep.
• Peter was having problems with mathematics, so he went to see his tutor to ask for advice.
• There were so many books on the subject that Cindy didn’t know where to begin.
• There was such a lot of material to cover that Ivan found it difficult to keep up with his studies.

There are many other ways of talking about the result of an action or situation. In some situations you may prefer to use and as a result or with the result that.

• The lecture was boring and irrelevant, and as a result some of the students began to fall asleep.
• The lecture was boring and irrelevant, with the result that some of the students began to fall asleep.

As a result can also be used at the beginning of a new sentence.

• The lecture was boring and irrelevant. As a result, some of the students began to fall asleep.

The following words and phrases are used in the same way.

Therefore, Thus, In consequence, Consequently, For this/that reason

Causal relations can be expressed by ing-clauses of result.

• The government increased the duty on wine. As a result, there was a fall in demand.
• The government increased the duty on wine, resulting in a fall in demand.