So (word)

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So is an English word that, apart from its other uses, has become increasingly popular in recent years as a coordinating conjunctive opening word in a sentence. This device is particularly used when answering questions although the questioner may also use the device. So may also be used to end sentences. When ending a sentence, it may be:

  • a coordinating conjunctive to refer backwards to something previously mentioned
  • a coordinating conjunctive dangling "so" (sometimes called trailing "so")[1] to refer forwards to something that may be said
  • an intensifying adverb.
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Sentence opener

The first known written use of so as a sentence opener is in several lines of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, published in the mid-1380s, for example:[2][3]

So graunte hem sone out of this world to pace (So grant him soon out of this world to pass);

So as a sentence opener has been used in later historical literary works such as:[2]

It is widely believed that the recent ascendancy of so as a sentence opener began in Silicon Valley. Michael Lewis, in his book The New New Thing, published in 1999, noted that "When a computer programmer answers a question, he often begins with the word 'so.'" Microsoft employees have long argued that the "so" boom began with them.[2][3][4]

Purpose

Various suggestions have been made as to its purpose:

  • as a coordinating conjunctive to refer backwards to something previously mentioned
  • as a discourse marker[5][6]
  • to signal that the following words are chosen for their relevance to the listener[7]
  • to provide a small amount of extra thinking time[8]

In his Modern English translation of Beowulf, Irish poet Seamus Heaney uses "So" to translate the single-word opening line, Hwæt! (also rendered 'lo', 'hark', 'listen', etc). He explains that "in Hiberno-English Scullion-speak [...] 'so' operates as an expression that obliterates all previous discourse and narrative, and at the same time functions as an exclamation calling for immediate attention. So, 'so' it was".[9]

Sentence closer

Referring back

"So" may refer back to something previously mentioned, such as:[10]

  • "If she notices, she never says so."
  • Speaker 1: "Has somebody called an ambulance?" Speaker 2: "I believe so."

Other possibilities include:

  • "Absolutely so."
  • "How so?"
  • "I am afraid so."
  • "Indeed so."
  • "It is not so."
  • "It is so."
  • "Is it so?"
  • "Is that so?"
  • "...just so."
  • "...less so."
  • "Let it be so."
  • "...like so."
  • "...made it so."
  • "...make it so."
  • "...more so."
  • "Not so."
  • "...or so."
  • "Quite so."
  • "So?"
  • "...so-and-so."
  • "Why so?"

Dangling so

A dangling "so" in conversation invites the listener to articulate or consider the implications of the information provided without the speaker having to articulate it himself or herself.[11][12] It has been interpreted as sometimes a form of bragging.[13] A dangling "so" in conversation may be represented in text as "so" followed by an ellipsis: "...".[1][14] Examples of dangling "so":

  • "Yeah, it's pretty exciting, though we're not really sure whether it will work out, so..."
  • Speaker 1: "How was your date?" Speaker 2: "Well, he didn't show up, so..."

Intensifying adverb

"So" may close a sentence as an intensifying adverb, such as in "I love her so". "So" in the middle of a sentence can also be an intensifying adverb, such as in "I so love her".[14]

See also

References

Further reading

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