толико ... да / такав ... да

Degree Leading to a Result

Level 4Sounds Like toliko ... da; takav ... da

Use толико ... да when an intense degree, quantity, or speed leads to a result ("so much / so [adj] that..."). Use такав ... да when a specific quality, character, or type of thing brings about an outcome ("such a [noun] that...").

How It Works

In Serbian syntax, consecutive clauses (последичне реченице) describe consequences. While ordinary consecutive clauses with тако да express a straightforward, non-intensified result, correlative consecutive constructions (толико ... да, такав ... да) specifically indicate an outcome that stems from an extreme degree, quantity, or qualitative feature established in the main clause.

1. Degree and Extent: толико / тако ... да
• With adjectives and adverbs: You can use толико or тако to express degree before adjectives and adverbs: Било је толико хладно да се река заледила. (It was so cold that the river froze.) / Возио је тако брзо да га нико није стигао. (He drove so fast that nobody caught up with him.)
• With verbs: Толико functions as the canonical adverb of degree and measure modifying verbs, covering duration, quantity, and emotional or psychological intensity: Толико ради да нема времена за одмор. (He works so much that he has no time to rest.) / Толико се уплашио да није могао да говори. (He got so scared that he couldn't speak.). Тако can also modify verbs to emphasize intensity or manner: Тако се уплашио да је побегао. (He was so scared / got scared in such a way that he ran away.)
• With quantities: Adverbial толико governs a noun in the genitive (толико људи да...), or you can use the declining pronominal adjective толики, толика, толико to agree directly with the noun (e.g., Била је толика гужва да нисмо могли да уђемо. — There was such a crowd that we couldn't get in.).

2. Qualitative Nature: такав ... да
When the result is caused by the extreme quality, nature, or type of a noun, Serbian uses the demonstrative pronominal adjective такав (таква, такво).
• Он је такав стручњак да сви траже његов савет. (He is such an expert that everyone seeks his advice.)
• Unlike adverbial толико, такав must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

3. Mood: Real vs. Hypothetical Outcomes
• Indicative: For factual, realized consequences, use standard indicative tenses such as the present tense or past tense.
• Conditional: If the outcome is hypothetical, unrealized, or potential, use the conditional. The clause is introduced by the conjunction да, while the verb form consists of the auxiliary бити (бих, би, бисмо, бисте, би agreeing with the subject in person and number) and the active past participle: Пакет је толико тежак да би га двојица једва понели. (The package is so heavy that two men could barely carry it.)

4. Syntactic Rules and Distinction from 'тако да'
• Contrast with тако да: In correlative degree constructions (толико / тако ... да), the intensifier stays in the main clause, and standard orthography does not place a comma directly before да. In contrast, the compound conjunction тако да expresses an ordinary result ('so / with the result that') and is preceded by a comma (e.g., Киша је падала цео дан, тако да нисмо изашли.).
• Strict Sequence: You cannot front the result clause. A sentence cannot begin with *Да се уплашио, био је толико....

Examples (4)

  1. Било је толико хладно да се вода у чесми заледила.

    It was so cold that the water in the tap froze.

    Word by Word: It-was so cold that refl water in tap froze.

    Adverbial 'толико' intensifies the adjective 'хладно' to express an extreme degree leading to a factual consequence in the past tense (note the reflexive 'заледила се').

  2. Он је такав стручњак да сви траже његов савет.

    He is such an expert that everyone seeks his advice.

    Word by Word: He is such expert that all seek his advice.

    'Такав' agrees in masculine singular nominative with 'стручњак', marking the qualitative cause of the result.

  3. Била је толика гужва да нисмо могли да уђемо у салу.

    There was such a big crowd that we couldn't enter the hall.

    Word by Word: Was aux so-great crowd that not-we-could that we-enter into hall.

    Here 'толика' is used as an inflected pronominal adjective agreeing with the feminine singular noun 'гужва'.

  4. Толико је тежак да би га тројица једва подигли.

    It is so heavy that three men could barely lift it.

    Word by Word: So is heavy that aux-would him three-men barely lifted.

    The subordinate clause uses the conditional ('би... подигли') with masculine plural semantic agreement for 'тројица' because the consequence is hypothetical rather than an actual event.

Common Mistakes

  • Inserting an unnecessary comma before "да".

    Било је толико вруће, да нисмо изашли напоље.
    Било је толико вруће да нисмо изашли напоље.

    In standard Serbian orthography, correlative consecutive clauses linked directly to degree adverbs like 'толико' do not take a comma before 'да'.

  • Failing to make "такав" agree in gender with the modified noun.

    Направио је такав грешку да је изгубио посао.
    Направио је такву грешку да је изгубио посао.

    'Такав' is not an invariable adverb; it is a pronominal adjective that must agree with the noun ('грешка' is feminine accusative singular: 'такву грешку').

  • Attempting to invert the clauses by placing the result clause first.

    Да је пао испит, толико је био немаран.
    Био је толико немаран да је пао испит.

    Consecutive clauses in Serbian cannot precede the matrix clause; the cause with 'толико' or 'такав' must always come first.

How It Connects

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

толико ... да / такав ... даLevel 4Degree Leading to a Result

Learn This First

To learn 'толико ... да' (so much/to such a degree ... that) and 'такав ... да' (such a ... that), learners must understand basic degree modification, the adjectival agreement rules required by 'такав', and the subordinate clause structure used to express result with 'да'.

Words in This Pattern

толикотакавдада