Consecutive Clauses — Proposizioni Consecutive

What Are Consecutive Clauses?

Consecutive clauses (proposizioni consecutive) express a result or consequence that follows from a situation described in the main clause. They answer the question 'with what result?' or 'to what extent?'. In English they are introduced by 'so ... that', 'such ... that', 'enough to', 'too ... to', and similar structures. In Italian, the correlative pair in the main clause signals the degree, and the subordinate clause states the outcome.

Same Subject vs. Different Subject

The choice between infinitive and indicative depends on whether the subjects of the two clauses are the same or different. SAME SUBJECT → infinitive (often with 'da' or 'per'): • Era abbastanza coraggioso da affrontare la giuria. (He was brave enough to face the jury.) • La musica era troppo forte per dormire. (The music was too loud to sleep.) • Lavorò al punto da crollare dalla stanchezza. (He worked to the point of collapsing from exhaustion.) DIFFERENT SUBJECT → che + indicative: • Era così stanca che i colleghi la mandarono a casa. (She was so tired that her colleagues sent her home.) • Ha studiato tanto che i professori lo hanno premiato. (He studied so much that the teachers rewarded him.) • La proposta era tale che nessuno osò rifiutarla. (The proposal was such that no one dared refuse it.)

• Il fenomeno è così diffuso che le autorità hanno dovuto intervenire. — The phenomenon is so widespread that the authorities had to intervene.
• L'inflazione è aumentata talmente in fretta che i mercati non hanno potuto adeguarsi. — Inflation rose so rapidly that the markets could not adjust.
• Era un tale caos che i soccorritori faticavano a orientarsi. — It was such chaos that the rescuers struggled to find their bearings.
• Il candidato era abbastanza qualificato da assumere il ruolo senza ulteriore formazione. — The candidate was qualified enough to take on the role without further training.
• Il traffico era troppo intenso per consentire un transito regolare. — The traffic was too heavy to allow regular transit.
• La crisi è degenerata al punto che il governo ha dichiarato lo stato d'emergenza. — The crisis deteriorated to the point that the government declared a state of emergency.
• Ha gestito la situazione in modo tale da guadagnarsi la fiducia di tutti. — He managed the situation in such a way as to earn everyone's trust.
• Cosicché fu necessario riaprire il negoziato da zero. — So it was necessary to reopen negotiations from scratch.

Register Notes

FORMAL / LITERARY: 'cosicché', 'così che', 'sicché', 'a tal punto che', 'talmente'. These appear in academic writing, legal texts, and quality journalism. NEUTRAL / SPOKEN: 'così...che', 'tanto...che', 'abbastanza...da', 'troppo...per'. Safe choices for B2 writing tasks and everyday use. NOTE ON 'in modo che' vs 'in modo da': 'in modo che' is used when subjects differ and sometimes takes the subjunctive when the result is intentional rather than actual ('Ho parlato lentamente in modo che capissero' — I spoke slowly so that they would understand). 'in modo da' takes the infinitive and implies the same subject.