Result
What happens or follows from this?
Meaning
A result is what happens or what we conclude because of another situation. It can be something that happened, an expected outcome, or a conclusion. Languages may use special linking words or sentence patterns, while some have no separate result marker and rely on context. Cause looks back to what explains a situation, while Result points to what follows from it.
How to spot it
Find the part that states what happens or what can be concluded because of the situation described.
In your native language
English uses so to put a result after its cause in the same sentence. As a result and therefore often introduce a new sentence; therefore can also mark a conclusion. English links a degree to a result with so + adjective + that or such + noun phrase + that, where a noun phrase is a group of words built around a noun.
The bus was full, so we waited for the next one.
So introduces the result; the cause comes first.
The road was closed. As a result, the trip took an extra hour.
As a result connects the outcome in this sentence to the previous situation.
The bag was so heavy that I couldn't lift it.
So goes before the adjective heavy; before a noun phrase, use such, as in such a heavy bag.
In your learning language
Spanish can introduce a result or conclusion with así que or por eso. Así que joins the outcome to the preceding statement, while por eso can also point back to a reason already mentioned. Patterns such as tan + adjective + que or tanto/tanta + noun + que link a degree or amount to its result.
Ya era tarde, así que pedimos un taxi.
It was already late, so we called a taxi.
Mañana trabajo; por eso no puedo quedarme.
I'm working tomorrow; that's why I can't stay.
La sopa estaba tan caliente que tuve que esperar.
The soup was so hot that I had to wait.
Tan…que connects the degree of heat to its consequence.
Learners whose language uses the same degree word with adjectives and nouns may confuse tan and tanto, as in *tanto caliente que. Learners whose language has one broad word for then may overuse entonces where así que or por eso makes the result link clearer.