あまりに（も）
so much that / excessively
あまりに（も） is an adverb that marks a degree as extreme, so extreme that the result described in the rest of the sentence naturally follows. Adding も makes the emphasis even stronger.
It corresponds to English “so ... that ...”: the あまりに（も）clause gives the excessive cause, and the main clause gives the consequence.
1. Before adjectives
Place あまりに（も） directly before an adjective; the adjective typically takes the て-form to link to the result.
彼の話があまりにも面白くて、笑ってしまった。
“His story was so funny that I burst out laughing.”
- 彼（かれ）= he
- の = possessive particle
- 話（はなし）= story, talk
- が = subject marker
- あまりにも = so very, excessively
- 面白くて（おもしろくて）= funny (て-form, giving the cause)
- 笑ってしまった（わらってしまった）= ended up laughing
2. Before verbs
あまりに（も）can also intensify a verb, again with the consequence following.
あまりに驚いて、声も出なかった。
“I was so surprised that I couldn't even make a sound.”
- あまりに = so very, excessively
- 驚いて（おどろいて）= being surprised (て-form, giving the cause)
- 声（こえ）= voice
- も = even
- 出なかった（でなかった）= did not come out
How to form it
あまりに（も） + adjective/verb (often in て-form) + result clause
- 面白い（おもしろい）= funny → あまりにも面白くて（あまりにもおもしろくて）= so funny that ...
- 寒い（さむい）= cold → あまりに寒くて（あまりにさむくて）= so cold that ...
- 驚く（おどろく）= to be surprised → あまりに驚いて（あまりにおどろいて）= so surprised that ...
Key idea
あまりに（も） says the degree went past normal limits and because it did, the result in the main clause was unavoidable.
Built on the same stem
Updated .