Talk:so

hungry so I ate

Under which of the English meanings should you put the "so" in:
"I was hungry and so I ate something"?
In this instance, it's a synonym of "therefore," right? As such, it should be an adverb. However, this usage isn't listed on this page

— This unsigned comment was added by 70.244.205.206 (talk) at 22:10, 9 November 2008 (UTC).

so

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One small section of this looks to be a mistake. Anyone more learned than me care to take a look. ===Adverb=== '''so''' # [[very|Very]]. #: ''He is '''so''' good!'' #: ''It’s not '''so''' bad.''

To me, ignorant as I am, this looks more like adjective use than adverb use.--Richardb 12:00, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

So in "so good" and "so bad" is an adverb. Try translating them into some languages that differentiate adjectives and adverbs more clearly and you will see. —Stephen 13:13, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

So...

"'So' Pushes to the Head of the Line". at [1] or [2] May 22, 2010, New York Times. - Just noting; not sure where or how to add it in here. Quiddity 01:29, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Grand so.

Does this count as a different use http://www.google.com/search?q=%22grand+so%22&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=cloc:c,cl_loc:ireland&num=10&lr=&ft=i&cr=countryIE&safe=off so, in this case, meaning "in that case" or "then". Not just with "grand" but usually Kanjo Kotr 14:48, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

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so

===Adverb=== sense: therefore: He ate too much cake, so he got sick; He wanted a book, so he went to the library.

Isn't this a conjunction? I mean, therefore is an adverb, but this is not used the same way: therefore is used only to modify a sentence ("He ate too much cake; therefore, he got sick"), whereas so is used only to connect sentences. If I'm right that this belongs under ===Conjunction===, then its definition and translation table need fixing also.​—msh210℠ 17:02, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

"So" instead of "Well"

I hear a lot of people using "so" where one should use "well". Someone is asked a question, and instead of starting his answer with "Well, ...", he starts with "So ...". I remember a friend of mine doing that at least as far back as 2001, but it seems to be getting more common (unfortunately!). Eric Kvaalen (talk) 13:16, 26 February 2012 (UTC)

It's a stupid and ridiculous habit, especially as used by interview guests on NPR (U.S. National Public Radio) who sometimes answer every question by beginning with this word, which is meaningless in this context. 173.89.236.187 02:36, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

Can somebody post some real-world examples? We need to document the language as it is used. Equinox ◑ 02:38, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

"there is so a (something)"

None of our senses explains to me sentences like "There is so a Santa Claus!" or "And what do you know, the State listened, and decreed that yes, Mr. B., there is so a Plan B." [3] What does the "so" do there - does it emphasize the verb "be" which can't be emphasized by "do"? I mean, you can say "I do believe in Santa", but not "there does be a Santa", so do you say "there is so a Santa" instead? Or am I off the mark? --Thrissel (talk) 18:38, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Sounds right to me. We also say simply, "It IS SO!" when contradicting someone who claims something is not the case. Eric Kvaalen (talk) 12:28, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

No doubt the sense discussed here comes from "It is so," in the sense of "It is thus (as I have said)." It's definitely distinct in meaning now and is still missing from the definitions. I'm unsure how to define it, so someone else will have to give that a try. JodianWarrior (talk) 11:52, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

This seems equivalent to definition five on too to me. I think it replaces not when disagreeing with a negative sentence, as in: "He did not!" "He did so/too!" Dijekjapen (talk) 18:02, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

Adverb comparative?

"IF he was covered in soot I was more so." Rich Farmbrough, 01:07, 5 June 2015 (UTC).

Missing German sense?

I think there is another, possibly obsolete, sense missing for German. An example would be: Machst du etw, so komme ich nicht. It would seem to be used like dann in this case. 75.121.177.226 11:02, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Comparative adjective

I don't think it's comparable. Phrases like more so are not a comparative version of this adjective. I can't find any clear examples of "so" being used in a comparative sense (obviously hard to google though, someone else might have better luck). WurdSnatcher (talk) 15:03, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

PBS YouTube space-time (alien life episode) used "so" in the sense "like something, as something"

unofficial US and UK English, but extant — This unsigned comment was added by 2.84.220.243 (talk) at 07:00, 26 July 2016 (UTC).

Please quote the full sentence they used. Equinox ◑ 09:28, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

Missing sense(s) from Irish English?

I notice in the very Irish comedy series Father Ted that they often end sentences with "...so", apparently having some sense like "well then". The character Mrs Doyle seems to do this most often. "...right so" also occurs. What does it mean? Equinox ◑ 17:07, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

In the episode A Christmassy Ted, around 40 min 20 sec, there are two examples close together:

- Oh, well, we'll be off, so. See you all soon.

- Right. See you.

- It's been great.

- God bless, so.

Equinox ◑ 02:48, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Interesting! This stackexchange thread and this site say it's sometimes equivalent to "then", in uses like John: "I am thirsty." Mary: "I'll pour you a drink so." In some other cases it seems like it might have lost all meaning and just be a filler sound like eh. BTW, in checking the English Dialect Dictionary (which possibly has this as sense 10: "so then"), I spotted two other interjections we lack: "A command to be quiet, or cease what one is doing" (cite: "So, so, lad! that's eniff"), and "Used to correct a slip of the tongue" (cites: "He said it wor three miles to Baildon. So! four miles.", "Ah said fower; ah mean three so but", "'Ur's ten, so, eleven year old", "Open the door; the window, so"). - -sche (discuss) 04:25, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

In that state or manner; with that attribute. A proadjective that replaces the aforementioned adjective phrase.

The Am Heritage Dict specifies

ADJ: 2. In good order: Everything on his desk must be exactly so. 
https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=so+
PRONOUN: Such as has already been suggested or specified; (roughly) the same: She became a loyal friend and remained so.

--Backinstadiums (talk) 19:03, 19 July 2020 (UTC)

Adverb ; Pronoun

1. having the purpose of: a speech so commemorating the victory. 
2. hence; therefore; for that reason: She was ill, and so stayed home

1. such as has been stated: to be good and stay so.
2. something that is about or near the persons or things in question, as in number or amount: of the original twelve, five or so remain.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/so

What about this lexicographic approach? --Backinstadiums (talk) 00:59, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

She was environmentally aware all right, rather too much so. --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:27, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

so very

Is so also "informal" when followed by very, as in Their attitude is so very English? --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:38, 23 November 2020 (UTC)

like so

like so reads (Adv) thus: Stand with both arms out, (like) so. --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:56, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

more so

The adjective meaning says more so is its comparative, so SoP? --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:01, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

explanatory so: He could not move, he was so cold.

What meaning is used in He could not move, he was so cold. --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:47, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Adverb sense 1 of course. Equinox ◑ 17:36, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

so did(n't)

New England speakers often use a negative form such as so didn't where others would use the positive so did, as in Sophie ate all her strawberries and so didn't Amelia.
https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=so

--Backinstadiums (talk) 20:42, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

not so

Richard assumes Elizabeth is at home. Not so. --Backinstadiums (talk) 11:19, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

Unlike "very", it presumes that the listener or reader will be sympathetic to the speaker

Critics have sometimes objected to the use of so as an intensive meaning "to a great degree or extent". This usage is most common in informal contexts, perhaps because, unlike the neutral very, it presumes that the listener or reader will be sympathetic to the speaker's evaluation of the situation. Thus one would be more apt to say It was so unfair of them not to invite you than It was so fortunate that I didn't have to put up with your company. https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=so --Backinstadiums (talk) 18:01, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Jamaican Creole

So is also used in Jamaican Creole (patwa) to mean ‘of a particular kind’, a generalisation of ‘so’ meaning ‘in a particular manner’. No doubt such usage is influenced by the fact like that can mean ‘of a particular kind’ or ‘in a particular manner’. An example of this is the song by Notch called ‘Nothing no go so’, the title and chorus of which mean ‘No action of that (specified) kind is acceptable’ - the exact nature of the said action varies from verse to verse but ‘No behaving in that (specified) manner’ doesn’t seem as good a translation. Also adding ‘so’ to the words ‘yah’ and ‘dey’ to make yah so and dey so, as well as at the end of sentences for emphasis in general (in Jamaican, Irish and occasionally MLE, though in different circumstances for each) could be mentioned. A Jamaican character in the Satanic Verses says: “Who ask you to mash up me life so?” (p.331)Overlordnat1 (talk) 12:32, 30 November 2021 (UTC)

so very

As in it's so very good --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:38, 2 May 2022 (UTC)

so'll

As in she'll have a beer and so'll I. JMGN (talk) 01:07, 27 October 2024 (UTC)