The diastereofacial selectivity of (2S)-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)lactal towards nucleophilic addition of ethylmagnesium bromide is strongly solvent-dependent. We have shown that solute−solvent interactions occurring in a series of ethers, such as tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydropyran, diethyl ether, dipentyl ether, tert-butyl methyl ether, diisopropyl ether, diisopentyl ether, and anisole, can govern a diastereomeric switch from the anti to the syn isomer. Determination of the temper-