Have you considered the many meanings of the word so in English? We know that as an adverb so can mean ‘very’, as in: ‘the restaurant was so busy’, and we know so can be used as a conjunction of result, as in: ‘the restaurant was busy, so we went to the park instead.’
But what about the multiple other uses of so in English? Here are 15 uses of so to consider:
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To emphasise an adjective or adverb – ‘Their house was so big!’ / ‘He was running so fast.’
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To emphasise a comparative adjective – ‘The sea was so much calmer than before.’
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To show the result of an action – ‘It started to rain, so I went home.’
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To show purpose – ‘I left work early so that I could see you.’
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To show addition – ‘I was late, and so was Tim.’
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To replace a verb phrase – ‘Did he get the book?’ ‘I think so.’
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To replace an adjective – ‘He was upset, but she was even more so.’
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To replace a conditional clause – ‘The car won’t start.’ ‘If so, we need a mechanic.’
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To say that something is true – ‘It’s raining.’ ‘Yes, that is so.’
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To emphasise a verb – ‘Please don’t complain so!’
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To give yourself time to think – ‘So… er, what did you think of the film?’
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To express surprise – ‘So! That’s where you put my chocolate!’
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To represent the approximate size of something – ‘The cupboard was so high by so wide.’
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To say that you don’t care – ‘Mum is angry with you.’ ‘So?’ / ‘So what?’
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To make different idioms – ‘The play was only so–so.’ = unexceptional
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