Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - so

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use so to refer back to something that has just been mentioned. ‘Do you think that made much of a difference to the family?’—‘I think so.’... If you can’t play straight, then say so... ‘Is he the kind of man who can be as flexible as he needs to be?’—‘ Well, I hope so.’... ADV: ADV after v 2. You use so when you are saying that something which has just been said about one person or thing is also true of another one. I enjoy Ann’s company and so does Martin... They had a wonderful time and so did I... ADV: ADV cl 3. You use the structures as...so and just as...so when you want to indicate that two events or situations are similar in some way. As computer systems become even more sophisticated, so too do the methods of those who exploit the technology... Just as John has changed, so has his wife... CONJ 4. If you say that a state of affairs is so, you mean that it is the way it has been described. Gold has been a poor investment over the past 20 years, and will continue to be so... It is strange to think that he held strong views on many things, but it must have been so. ADV: v-link ADV 5. You can use so with actions and gestures to show a person how to do something, or to indicate the size, height, or length of something. Clasp the chain like so. ADV: ADV after v 6. You use so and so that to introduce the result of the situation you have just mentioned. I am not an emotional type and so cannot bring myself to tell him I love him... People are living longer than ever before, so even people who are 65 or 70 have a surprising amount of time left... There was snow everywhere, so that the shape of things was difficult to identify. CONJ 7. You use so, so that, and so as to introduce the reason for doing the thing that you have just mentioned. Come to my suite so I can tell you all about this wonderful play I saw in Boston... He took her arm and hurried her upstairs so that they wouldn’t be overheard... I was beginning to feel alarm, but kept it to myself so as not to worry our two friends. CONJ 8. You can use so in stories and accounts to introduce the next event in a series of events or to suggest a connection between two events. The woman asked if he could perhaps mend her fences, and so he stayed... I thought, ‘Here’s someone who’ll understand me.’ So I wrote to her... And so Christmas passed. ADV: ADV cl 9. You can use so in conversations to introduce a new topic, or to introduce a question or comment about something that has been said. So how was your day?... So you’re a runner, huh?... So, as I said to you, natural medicine is also known as holistic medicine... And so, to answer your question, that’s why your mother is disappointed... ‘I didn’t find him funny at all.’—‘So you won’t watch the show again then?’... ADV: ADV cl 10. You can use so in conversations to show that you are accepting what someone has just said. ‘It makes me feel, well, important.’—‘And so you are.’... ‘You know who Diana was, Grandfather.’—‘So I do!’... ‘Why, this is nothing but common vegetable soup!‘—‘So it is, madam.’... ADV: ADV cl 11. You say ‘So?’ and ‘So what?’ to indicate that you think that something that someone has said is unimportant. (INFORMAL) ‘My name’s Bruno.’—‘So?’... ‘You take a chance on the weather if you holiday in the UK.’—‘So what?’... CONVENTION 12. You can use so in front of adjectives and adverbs to emphasize the quality that they are describing. He was surprised they had married–they had seemed so different... What is so compromising about being an employee of the state? ADV: ADV adj/adv c darkgreen]emphasis 13. You can use so...that and so...as to emphasize the degree of something by mentioning the result or consequence of it. The tears were streaming so fast she could not see... The deal seems so attractive it would be ridiculous to say no... He’s not so daft as to listen to rumours. ADV: ADV adj that, ADV adj as to-inf c darkgreen]emphasis 14. see also insofar as 15. You use and so on or and so forth at the end of a list to indicate that there are other items that you could also mention. ...the Government’s policies on such important issues as health, education, tax and so on... PHRASE: cl/group PHR 16. You use so much and so many when you are saying that there is a definite limit to something but you are not saying what this limit is. There is only so much time in the day for answering letters... Even the greatest city can support only so many lawyers. PHRASE: PHR n 17. You use the structures not...so much and not so much...as to say that something is one kind of thing rather than another kind. I did not really object to Will’s behaviour so much as his personality... PHRASE 18. You use or so when you are giving an approximate amount. Though rates are heading down, they still offer real returns of 8% or so... Matt got me a room there for a week or so when I first came here... PHRASE: amount PHR c darkgreen]vagueness 19. so much the better: see better ever so: see ever so far so good: see far so long: see long so much for: see much so much so: see much every so often: see often so there: see there