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Learn how to use tanto...que in Spanish
In Spanish the structure:
[Verb] + tanto/a/os/as [noun] + que
is used to express [Verb] + so much/many [noun] that ...
Have a look and listen to the following examples:
¡Tengo tanto calor que me voy a desmayar!I am so hot [lit: I have so much heat] that I am going to faint!
Hacéis tanta comida en Navidad que tenéis restos para dos semanas más.You make so much food at Christmas that you have leftovers for another two weeks.
This type of structure shows a cause, expressed in the first part of the sentence and an effect or consequence expressed after que.
This structure does not work if we invert the sentence, i.e. first the consequence and then the cause:
Tiene tanto dinero que no sabe cómo gastarlo.
He has so much money that he doesn't know how to spend it.
"Que no sabe cómo gastarlo tiene tanto dinero"
Notice how the word tanto, acting as an adjective, needs to agree in gender and number with its associated noun: tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas
Don't get confused with the comparative structure "Tanto/a/os/as [noun] como..." = As much/many [noun] as... See Using tanto como with verbs and nouns to say as much/many ... as (comparatives).
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