Quote Originally Posted by Medved View Post
Helen, he has uttered that there's a comparison in case of "that" and there's no comparison in case of "so".

- Chew faster!
*the other guy starts chewing at the speed of a machine gun*
- No, not THAT fast. (not fast like that)
But I cannot see any comparison here. His chewing is not compared to anything. There is a mere indication of the speed. It implies that his chewing could be slower. But the word “so” seems to expess the same. And what does “that” connect or disconnect here?
Couldn't it be put like, "No, not so fast"? I think it could.
Quote Originally Posted by Medved View Post
Medved and Paul G. fought because of Helen. She was that beautiful.
(She deserved to be fought over.)
If he said "she was so beautifil", it would have kinda disconnected the sentences, like:
"they fought over her, oh, btw, she was beautiful".

See the difference?
I seem to start feeling something vague. Yet I think the word “that” in “She was that beautiful” does not denote any comparison either. Actually her beauty is not compared to anything. It rather denotes the degree of her beauty slightly indicating the cause or reason of their fight. It was her beauty that caused their fight. I think the usage of “that” in this case does not necessarily should relate to the past. It might just as well be applied to the present. Like in “He is crazy with love for her. She is that beautiful”. Besides, your sentence about chewing relates to the present, too.
OMG. Perhaps if anyone had ever fought for me I could understand that faster. No luck.