nii et / nii ... et

So and So That (Nii Et)

Level 3

Sadas vihma, nii et jäime koju means It was raining, so we stayed at home. Ma olin nii väsinud, et jäin kohe magama means I was so tired that I fell asleep right away.

How It Works

Two related patterns express a result.

  • nii et (so): the first part says what happened, and the part after nii et says what followed from it. The comma goes before nii: Sadas vihma, nii et jäime koju. Buss hilines, nii et võtsime takso.
  • nii + adjective or adverb ..., et (so ... that): nii strengthens a word, and et starts the result. The comma goes before et: Ma olin nii väsinud, et jäin kohe magama. Ta rääkis nii kiiresti, et ma ei saanud aru.

The comma also goes between nii and et when nii describes the way something is done (in such a way that): Tee see nii, et keegi ei näe. With a noun, use selline ..., et (such a ... that): Oli selline ilm, et keegi ei tahtnud välja minna.

A result clause always comes after the main clause. In speech, Nii et ... can also begin a sentence and mean so or therefore, summing up what was said before: Nii et homme kohtume. Always write nii et as two words.

Examples (6)

  1. Sadas vihma, nii et jäime koju.

    It was raining, so we stayed at home.

  2. Ma olin nii väsinud, et jäin kohe magama.

    I was so tired that I fell asleep right away.

  3. Buss hilines, nii et võtsime takso.

    The bus was late, so we took a taxi.

  4. Ta rääkis nii kiiresti, et ma ei saanud aru.

    She spoke so fast that I did not understand.

  5. Tuba oli nii väike, et seal oli raske liikuda.

    The room was so small that it was hard to move around in it.

  6. Tee see nii, et keegi ei näe.

    Do it in such a way that nobody sees.

    Here nii describes how it is done, so the comma comes between nii and et.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing nii et as one word.

    Buss hilines, niiet võtsime takso.
    Buss hilines, nii et võtsime takso.

    nii et is always written as two words.

  • Using väga instead of nii before a result.

    Ma olin väga väsinud, et jäin kohe magama.
    Ma olin nii väsinud, et jäin kohe magama.

    väga only means very. To link how strong something was to its result, use nii ..., et.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

nii et / nii ... etLevel 3So and So That (Nii Et)

Learn This First

nii et adds a result, the counterpart of sest.

Words in This Pattern

niiet