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So

What is this little word doing in so many places? When should you use it in formal and informal writing, and when is its use just too colloquial?

So can be an adverb, conjunction, adjective, pronoun or interjection. In this article, we will look at its use as an adverb.

Here are some traditional uses of so:

  • Kyle was so very happy he started to dance.

  • The watch was so expensive that Juan was afraid to wear it.

  • My sister wants to leave on Wednesday, and so do I.

  • Annie always wants things just so.

Here are some more recent examples, where so is used as an intensifier, similar to definitely. Such uses have been called the "Gen X so":

  • Your shirt is so eighties.

  • We so aren't going to Calgary.

  • It is so not my problem.

The GenX so is considered slang and should be avoided in formal writing and speech.