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I was contacting someone who replied: "I was so glad to receiving your email." though he read and replied to me just 10 minutes after my email was sent.

I liked the sentence so I am asking if it's grammatically correct?

Jasper
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Elmahy
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    Unfortunately, there is a grammatical error in the sentence, so I would be careful using it as a template for the future. It is, however, correct to use "was" to describe feelings at that moment (of receiving the email). – JMB Jan 26 '16 at 22:00
  • This usage of "was" is in the past tense. Here is another example: A few seconds ago, I read your question. Now, I am writing my reply. – Jasper Jan 26 '16 at 22:08
  • Arguably, there are two grammatical errors in the reply. First, "receiving" should be "receive". Second, I don't think this use of "so" is correct. (On the other hand, @snailboat thinks this use of "so" is OK.) – Jasper Jan 26 '16 at 22:10
  • @Jasper It is in the dictionary anyway. *so* "2c) to a very high degree; very" ⇒ they are so happy". In AmE I would prefer happy over glad, but it probably varies depending where you are. – user3169 Jan 26 '16 at 23:39
  • Well, calling this use of so a grammatical error is factually incorrect, but Jasper can certainly recommend people not say it if he dislikes it personally, and many other people have done so in the past. –  Jan 26 '16 at 23:40
  • Was is not talking about the present feeling; it is talking about the past feeling. That the person may still feel that way in the present does not matter. – GoDucks Jan 26 '16 at 23:54
  • @Snailboat While "so" is not grammatically incorrect, it's stylistically not good. That usage of "so" is common and acceptable (though, to me, annoying) in speech, but should be avoided in writing, which includes email. – ostrichofevil Apr 26 '16 at 21:57
  • so glad is fine. It's perfectly acceptable. It's not like the ubiquitous so at the beginning of a sentence. So glad, so happy, so interesting, etc. so obvious. I disagree that it should be avoided. I mean.... – Lambie Apr 26 '16 at 22:02

2 Answers2

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Yes, it's perfectly correct to say

I was so glad to receive your email.

even though it was in the very recent past. You could also say

I am so glad you sent me that email.

or

I am happy to have your email.

if you're determined not to use past tense :-)

Chad
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The sentence is perfectly correct, grammatically speaking, and sounds fine. However, the two sentences

I was so glad to receive your email.

and

I am so glad you sent that email.

which were mentioned by Chad, have slightly different subtle connotations. The first uses the past tense to focus upon the moment the email was received; the use of the word receive furthers this implication. The second one focuses on being glad that the email was sent at all.

You can think of the difference like this: the first is like the spontaneous feeling of receiving a present, while the second is looking back and, in retrospect, being glad that someone sent you that present.

ostrichofevil
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