Consecutive and intensive structures

What it is

At B2 you linked causes and results with así que, por eso, tan … que and tanto … que. C1 adds two families. Formal consequence markers (de ahí que, luego, por consiguiente) let you draw conclusions in essays, reports and debates. Intensive structures (tal … que, hasta tal punto que and the suspended ¡Dice cada tontería…!) let you stress how extreme something is, with or without stating the result.

How to form it

When to use it

de ahí que: "hence"

de ahí que introduces a consequence that the reader can already see coming, and it takes the subjunctive, even though the result is a fact: Los precios han subido un 20 %; de ahí que mucha gente haya dejado de viajar. The subjunctive here marks the clause as known background, not as news. Followed by a noun, de ahí needs no que: de ahí su enojo, de ahí la importancia de votar.

luego: "therefore"

In formal reasoning luego means "therefore", not "later": Todos los testigos lo vieron allí, luego no puede negarlo. You will meet it in essays, legal arguments and the famous Pienso, luego existo. Context tells the two meanings apart; in speech, "therefore" is rare.

tal … que and its relatives

tal + noun + que stresses intensity through a noun: Hacía tal frío que no se podía estar en la calle. Dijo tales tonterías que todos se rieron. tal goes straight before the noun, with no article. hasta tal punto que, a tal extremo que and de tal modo que intensify a whole action: Se enojó hasta tal punto que dejó de hablarnos. The result clause takes the indicative.

Suspended intensives

In conversation the result is often left unsaid and the intonation does the work: ¡Dice cada tontería…! (he says such silly things), ¡Hace un calor…!, ¡Tiene una paciencia…!, Es de un pesado… These sentences sound unfinished on purpose; write them with an ellipsis.

• ¡Dice cada tontería…!He says the silliest things!cada + noun
• ¡Hace un frío…!It's freezing!un + noun
• Es de un pesado…He's such a bore…de un + adjective

conque: "so"

Colloquial conque (one word) means "so": Ya es tarde, conque apúrate. Do not confuse it with con que + subjunctive ("as long as", es-g-087) or ¿con qué? ("with what?").

Contrasts and traps

• de ahí que + subjunctive. de ahí que la gente haya dejado de viajar, not ha dejado.
• tan + adjective, tanto / tal + noun. tan cansado, but tanto frío or tal frío, never tan frío with the noun frío.
• No article with tal. Hubo tal tormenta que…, not una tal tormenta.
• de modo que: result or purpose? + indicative = result (Llovía, de modo que nos quedamos); + subjunctive = purpose (Habla alto, de modo que todos te oigan).
• luego in reasoning = therefore. Don't translate it as "later" in a formal argument.

If you speak Portuguese

Most of this has a twin: tal … que, de tal modo que and the suspended ele fala cada besteira… work as in Spanish. Three details differ. Colloquial Brazilian daí que is followed by the indicative (daí que eu falei), but Spanish de ahí que takes the subjunctive: de ahí que nadie confiara en él. Portuguese logo means both "therefore" and "soon", while Spanish luego means "therefore" and "later" (hasta luego = até logo): never use luego for "soon" (pronto). And tão frio doesn't transfer: with the noun frío Spanish needs tanto or tal.

Practise