"así que" vs "de esta form/manera"

Question

A friend has pointed out that I tend to use "así que" incorrectly. I am sure that I overuse "así que" because in English we have the tendency to overuse "so". I try not to translate literally from English to Spanish, but it happens.

One example that he provided me was "Cuando escribo las oraciones del día, prefiero usar un poco de la verdad así que puedo recordar las frases."

He suggested that I use "de esta manera" or "de esta forma" in place of "así que" in that sentence. He's also said that "así que" is usually meant for when something has changed or as a result of something bad/unplanned.

I don't totally understand this very well, possibly because it doesn't exactly translate. My friend is trying to explain it to me but I think I am getting more confused in the explanation. I'm sure it's simple, and I just need another person to break it down for me.

Answer 1

It seems to me that he's right. ASÍ could be DE ESTA MANERA, DE ESTE MODO or DE ESTA FORMA

Cuando escribo las oraciones del día, prefiero usar datos de la realidad, así puedo recordar las frases.
Cuando escribo las oraciones del día, prefiero usar datos de la realidad, de este modo/ de esta manera puedo recordar las frases.

"Así que" is different It sounds to me that it could mean something like AS A CONSEQUENCE.

Juan es muy alto así que quizás pueda jugar al basketball.
Tengo hambre así que voy a hacerme un sandwich.
María sacó la lotería así que se va a comprar una casa nueva.
Pedro tuvo un accidente con el auto y tuvo graves heridas internas así que los médicos lo sometieron a una intervención quirúrgica.

Let's see if other people agree because I had never thought about it.

Answer 2

Hi Caitlin! "Así" alone means "de esta forma/manera".

"Cuando escribo las oraciones del día, prefiero usar un poco de la verdad así puedo recordar las frases."

"Así que" means so (but not as a pet word, as a connector of consequence).

"Así que" is also short for "así es que" or "therefore" in English. - Daniela2041, Aug 1, 2017

Answer 3

You can avoid the whole problem by using "para poder recordar" or even "para que pueda recordar"

Even shorter: "para recordar"

Perhaps in this example, but I'm trying to make sure I use it correctly in general, in other contexts. - Caitlin9657, Aug 1, 2017

Then follow the other examples. They are good. - Daniela2041, Aug 1, 2017