Speaker 1: You know. I started this podcast in twenty fourteen so
I can help people speak English better. And now there
are so many podcast episodes it's almost near one thousand,
so check this one out.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight ninety eight.
So what's the deal with so? Thanks for tuning in,
and welcome back to the Happy English Podcast. Today we're
talking about so. Just two little letters SO, but this
little word works over time. In English, we use so
to show a result, to give a reason, to add emphasis,
and yeah, we even use it. But we're not sure
what to say next, So let's break it down. I'll
show you four ways we use SO with lots of
examples to help you practice this and sound more natural
when you speak English. Here we go. First up, Probably
the most common meaning of so is to show a result.
It's like saying because of that or therefore, like this
morning it started raining, so I decided to stay home.
There's the cause it rained and the result I stayed
home cause and effect or like what happened last week?
Jack forgot to set his alarm so he was late
for work. Yep, that happened, And let me tell you something,
the boss wasn't too happy. Here's another one. My friend
Ed is allergic to nuts, so we didn't get the
walnut brownies. Probably a good idea, right. Actually, just the
other day I went back to the gym for the
first time in a long time, and I went a
little too hard, like an hour of cardio and weight training.
So the next morning I couldn't move My legs were
killing me. That's so as a result, one thing leads
to another. So yeah, so is super handy when you
want to explain why something happened. Next, here's a variation.
So with that, we use so followed by an adjective,
an adverb, or renown plus that when we want to
show a strong or extreme result. Let's say one of
your friends made a huge dinner for everyone. You could
say she cooked so much food that we couldn't finish
it all. Wow, that is next level food prep. Or
how about this one. I went to a concert last week.
The music was so loud that I couldn't hear myself
think and if you've ever been to a live rock concert,
you know the feeling. And check this out. Yesterday, I
was so tired that I fell asleep during the meeting.
And by the way, in daily conversation, we often dropped
the word that, especially when speaking quickly, like she was
so hungry she ate the whole peace. That's totally natural.
So when you want to be expressive, paint a picture,
so followed by that is your friend. We also use
so that with nothing in between, to show purpose or intention.
So that means in order to let's say you're studying
late at night, why I'm studying now so that I
can enjoy the weekend. You're not just studying. You've got
a goal, You've got a purpose. Or we left early
so that we wouldn't miss our train. What's the purpose
of leaving early not to miss the train. Here's one more.
During the class, I explained it again so that everyone
would understand that's not a result, that's the purpose for
doing something. And here's one I used in a beginner
class just last week. I said, I'm going to speak
slowly so that you can follow more easily. That's showing intention,
not the result of me speaking slowly, but why I'm
doing it. And finally, here's one of the most common
uses of sow In real life. We use so as
a filler word. We use so when we're thinking starting
a conversation or changing the topic. Like at a restaurant
after sitting with the menu for a few minutes, you
can say to your friend, so, what do you want
to eat? Or when you start a new topic, you
can also use SO, like so check this out. I
was walking down the street one time and I saw
a guy walking down the road with a parrot on
his shoulder. Yeah, true story. New York is full of surprises.
I think this is a handy phrase to remember. So
check this out. You can use this phrase when you
want to bring up a new topic or just bring
attention to what you want to add to the conversation.
Like last weekend, I was talking with some friends about
music and some concerts that are coming up. One of
my buddies said, so, check this out. The Rolling Stones
are going on tour this winter. In these cases, SO
does it really have a meaning. It's just there to
make your speech flow more naturally. Okay, let's recap SO
shows a result it was raining, so we stayed home.
We use so followed by an adjective, adverb, or noun
followed by that to show a strong result. It was
so cold that I couldn't feel my fingers, or I
ate so much ice cream that I couldn't get off
the sofa. So that also shows a purpose, like I
studied so that I could pass the test. And lastly,
we use so as a conversational filler, like so, what's
next and so check this out. So here's your challenge
this week. Try noticing how so is used in conversations
around you, in podcasts, on TV, or when you talk
with friends. Try using so for results, so that for purpose,
and don't be afraid to throw in a little filler
so check this out to sound more natural. And hey,
if you want to practice the English from this and
all of my podcasts with me and a group of
other awesome English learners, come check out my podcast Learner's
Study Group. We meet once a week and go over
the language from these podcast lessons together. It's a great
way to build confidence and improve your speaking. Just check
the link where you're listening to this podcast, or visit
Myhappy English dot com and choose Podcast episode eight ninety
eight for more info. Thanks for listening, and remember, learning
another language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and
I'm here to help you on your journey.
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