What's the difference between あまり and ほど when saying 'so much...that'?


What's the difference between あまり and ほど when saying 'so much...that'?

For example:

> トムは驚きのあまり何も言えなかった。  
>  Tom was so surprised that he was speechless.
>
> トムは驚くほど何も言えなかった。  
>  (Tom was so surprised that he was speechless.）？

Or:

> ピンが落ちた音が聞こえるあまり、静かだった。  
>  (It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.) ？
>
> ピンが落ちた音が聞こえるほど、静かだった。  
>  It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.




Basically, the main difference lies on whether the focus is placed on the
**cause or effect** in a given situation.

Though you will need to change the sentence structure around, you can describe
a cause-and-effect situation by using either 「あまり」 or 「ほど」.

> 「( **cause + あまり** ) + effect」 places (at least slightly) more focus on the
> **_effect_**.

「トムは驚{おどろ}きの **あまり** 何{なに}も言{い}えなかった。」= "Tom was so surprised that he was
speechless."

「静{しず}かな **あまり** 、ピンが落{お}ちる音{おと}(が/さえ/さえも)聞{き}こえた。」 = "It was so quiet that
you could hear a pin drop."

> 「 **(effect + ほど** ) + cause」 places (at least slightly) more focus on the
> **_cause_**.

「トムは何も言えない **ほど** 驚いた。」 = "Tom was surprised to the extent that he became
speechless."

「ピンが落ちる音が聞こえる **ほど** 静かだった。」 = "It was quiet to the extent that you could hear
a pin drop."

You will need to form/read/hear hundreds of sentences like these to get a feel
of the usages.

Thus, two of your four sentences sound quite awkward and make little sense to
us native speakers. Those are:

「トムは驚くほど何も言えなかった。」

and

「ピンが落ちた音が聞こえるあまり、静かだった。」




Basically, the main difference lies on whether the focus is placed on the
**cause or effect** in a given situation.

Though you will need to change the sentence structure around, you can describe
a cause-and-effect situation by using either 「あまり」 or 「ほど」.

> 「( **cause + あまり** ) + effect」 places (at least slightly) more focus on the
> **_effect_**.

「トムは驚{おどろ}きの **あまり** 何{なに}も言{い}えなかった。」= "Tom was so surprised that he was
speechless."

「静{しず}かな **あまり** 、ピンが落{お}ちる音{おと}(が/さえ/さえも)聞{き}こえた。」 = "It was so quiet that
you could hear a pin drop."

> 「 **(effect + ほど** ) + cause」 places (at least slightly) more focus on the
> **_cause_**.

「トムは何も言えない **ほど** 驚いた。」 = "Tom was surprised to the extent that he became
speechless."

「ピンが落ちる音が聞こえる **ほど** 静かだった。」 = "It was quiet to the extent that you could hear
a pin drop."

You will need to form/read/hear hundreds of sentences like these to get a feel
of the usages.

Thus, two of your four sentences sound quite awkward and make little sense to
us native speakers. Those are:

「トムは驚くほど何も言えなかった。」

and

「ピンが落ちた音が聞こえるあまり、静かだった。」

