Today we’re going to look at a lovely word that every Italian learner should know— so – translated as so, Then, so or Excellent Depends on the surrounding environment.
so
So / then / therefore / then
so from Vulgar Latin *sowhich is a cross of Vulgar Latin so and latin once (meaning “once”).
In its most basic form, so is a connective word used to introduce a result, like a word like so and so in English. For example:
I think therefore I exist.
Cogito ergo sum.
You made a mistake, so you have to pay the price.
You made a mistake, so you have to pay the price.
A defensive phrase you often hear in everyday Italian is so?which is similar to English so what?, What is it to you? or What's the big deal? It is synonymous with the sentence so? or so what?
Yes, I'm the one eating all the cake. so?
Yes, I'm the one eating all the cake. so what?
Although defined in most dictionaries as a conjunction, it is more commonly so Used as an adverb, its purpose is to emphasize a phrase, or to reinstate a previous topic of conversation, as in these words so, Then and Excellent in English. Consider the following example:
So, where are we going?
So where are we going?
So, where are we going? / So where are we going?
So come on – let’s not waste any more time.
So come on – let’s not waste any more time.
So, as we said before, Italian is not difficult for Spaniards.
Well, as I said, Italian is not difficult for Spaniards.
In layman's terms, so Often used to get a few extra seconds of thinking time before answering a question, starting a conversation, or starting a speech.
So… first of all I want to thank you for being here.
So… first of all I want to thank everyone for being here.
So far we have seen so as a conjunction and an adverb, but you know it can also be used as an invariant noun and its meaning is View or crux? Used this way, it almost always appears in a set expression Get to the pointmeaning is Get to the point.
Come on, let’s get to the point!
Come on, let’s get to the point!
You may also hear alternatives Get to the point (literally “get to the point”) and Get to the point (literally “getting to the point”), both have the same meaning Get to the point.
Another common expression is Now we get to the point! meaning is We are at a turning point!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.
