So+ adjective (so difficult),so+ adverb (so slowly)
We often usesowhen we mean ‘to such a great extent’. With this meaning,sois a degree adverb that modifies adjectives and other adverbs:
Using that camera is easy. Why is she making itsodifficult?
Why is shesountidy?
I’m sorry I’m walkingsoslowly. I’ve hurt my ankle.
It doesn’t always work outsowell.
We also usesoas an intensifier to mean ‘very, very’:
That motorway issodangerous. Everyone drives too fast.
That’s kind of you. Thankssomuch for thinking of us.
We often usesowiththat:
He’ssolazythathe never helps out with the housework.
It wassodark (that) we could hardly see.
We don’t usesobefore an adjective + a noun (attributive adjective). We use such:
She emailed ussuchlovely pictures of her and Enzo.
Not: …so lovely pictures…
We usesuchnotsoto modify noun phrases:
She issucha hard-working colleague.
Not: …so a hard-working colleague.
It’s taken themsucha long time to send the travel brochures.
Not: …so a long time…
See also:
Such
So muchandso many
We usesobeforemuch,many,littleandfew:
There wereso manypeople on the beach it was difficult to get into the sea.
There areso fewpeople who know what it is like in our country for other people from different cultures.
You’ve eatenso littleand I’ve eatenso much!
We useso much, notso, before comparatives:
I feelsomuchbetter after I’ve been for a run in the park.
Not:I feel so better…
My house isso muchcolder than yours.
Soas a substitute form
Sosubstituting for an adjective
In formal contexts we can usesoinstead of an adjective phrase after a verb:
The bus service was very unreliable when I was young and it remainssoeven today.(It remains very unreliable …)
She is very anxious. She’s beensosince the accident.(She’s been very anxious since the accident.)
More so,less so
When we are comparing, we usemore soandless soas substitutes:
The kitchen is very old-fashioned, the living roommore so.(The living room is more old-fashioned than the kitchen.)
My old office was very dark; my new officeless so.(My new office is less dark than my old office.)
Soas substitute
With some verbs, we often usesoinstead of repeating an object clause, especially in short answers:
A:Will Megan be at the meeting today?
B:I thinkso. (I think Megan will be at the meeting today.)
The next train is going to be half an hour late. They told mesowhen I bought my ticket.(They told me (that) the next train is going to be half an hour late.)
See also:
Soandnotwithexpect,hope,think, etc.
Sowith reporting verbs
Especially in speaking, we sometimes usesoin front position in short responses with reporting verbs such asbelieve,say, tell, hear, read:
She’s the most popular singer.Soeverybody says, anyway.
A:Janet got the job.
B:SoI heard. (I heard that Janet got the job.)
A:The Council has given planning permission for another shopping centre in the city.
B:SoI read in the paper. (I read that the Council has given planning permission for another shopping centre.)
So am I,so do I,Neither do I
We usesowithbeand with modal and auxiliary verbsto mean ‘in the same way’, ‘as well’ or ‘too’. We use it in order to avoid repeating a verb, especially in short responses with pronoun subjects. When we usesoin this way, we invert the verb and subject, and we do not repeat the main verb (so+ verb [= v] + subject [= s]):
Geoff is a very good long-distance runner andso[V]is[S]his wife.
A:What are you doing tonight?
B:I’ve got loads of exam marking to do and I’mstaying at home.
A:So[V]am[S]I.
They all joined the new gym and after three weeksso[V]did[S]he.(… and after three weeks he joined the gym too.)
Neither do I
We also usenot…either,nororneitherwhen we want to give a negative meaning:
A:I don’t think she’ll be coming to the party.
B:Nor/Neitherdo I. (orI don’t either.)
See also:
Neither, neither … norandnot … either
Soin exclamations
When we make exclamative responses, we can usesoas a substitute before the subject and verbbe, or subject and modal or auxiliary verb:
A:We’re out of salt.
B:Oh,sowe are!
A:Look Mum, I can climb all the way to the top.
B:Soyou can!
Soas a conjunction
We usesoas a subordinating conjunction to introduce clauses of result or decision:
I got here late. It was a long journey,soI’m really tired now.
You are right, of course,soI think we will accept what the bank offers.
It’s much cheaper with that airline, isn’t it,soI’ll get all the tickets for us with them.
Soandthat-clauses
We useso+thatas a conjunction to introduce clauses of reason and explanation:
They both went on a dietso thatthey could play more football with their friends.
We also useso +adjective or adverb beforethat-clauses. We do not useveryin this structure:
It wassohot thatwe didn’t leave the air-conditioned room all day.
They drovesofast thatthey escaped the police car that was chasing them.
Not:They drove very fast that…
See also:
So thatorin order that?
Soas a discourse marker
Sois a very common discourse marker in speaking. It usually occurs at thebeginning of clauses and we use it when we are summarising what has just been said, or when we are changing topic:
[from a lecture on English literature]
So, we’ve covered the nineteenth century and we’re now going to look at all the experiments in the novel in the early twentieth century.
[discussing whether to eat a pudding or keep it till the following morning]
A:I’m not having it cold in the morning.
B:Oh.Sowhat sort of pudding is it?
So, what time does the film start?
See also:
Discourse markers (so, right, okay)
So:other uses in speaking
So farmeans ‘up to now’:
So farwe have kept the news within the family.
We use the expressionis that so? in responses to express surprise or suspicion:
A:When I came to the flat all the lights were still on!
B:Oh,is that so?
A:Yes!
We sometimes usesoin informal speaking to indicate the size or extent of something. We use it in a similar way tothisand we usually use hand gestures to show the size or extent:
[referring to a valuable diamond in a ring]
It’s aboutsosmall.(orIt’s aboutthissmall.)
We also sometimes usesoto mean ‘like this’:
Hold the racket in your left hand –so. That’s right.
In speaking, we also usesoto intensify words, phrases and clauses. We stresssoquite strongly. This usage is very common among some younger speakers. It has a meaning similar tojustorjust like:
I’msonot interested.
That’ssoJack. He always behaves like that.(That’s just like Jack.)
That issowhat I don’t want to hear!