So vs Until - What's the difference?

so | until |

As a pronoun so

is this;.

As a preposition until is

up to the time of (something happening).

As a conjunction until is

up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

so

English

(wikipedia so)

Conjunction

(English Conjunctions)

In order that.

With the result that; for that reason; therefore.

* , chapter=1

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’

(label) Provided that; on condition that, as long as.

* , II.18:

As we cal money not onely that which is true and good, but also the false; so it be currant.

* (John Milton)

Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose play upon the earth, so truth be in the field, we do injuriously, by licensing and prohibiting, to misdoubt her strength.

Usage notes

Chiefly in North American use, a comma or pause is often used before the conjunction when used in the sense with the result that''. (A similar meaning can often be achieved by using a semicolon or colon (without the ''so'' ), as for example: ''He drank the poison; he died. )

Synonyms

* (in order that) so that, that

Adverb

(-)

To the (explicitly stated) extent that.

* , chapter=1

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’

* 1963 , Mike Hawker, (Ivor Raymonde) (music and lyrics), (Dusty Springfield) (vocalist), (I Only Want to Be with You) (single),

Don?t know what it is that makes me love you so , / I only know I never want to let you go.

(lb) To the (implied) extent.

[= this long]

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=We drove back to the office with some concern on my part at the prospect of so large a case. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Old soldiers? , passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.}}

# (lb) Very (positive clause).

Captain Edward Carlisle; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so' superb a woman as this under handicap ' so hard.

# (lb) Very (negative clause).

# Very much.

Molly the dairymaid came a little way from the rickyard, and said she would pluck the pigeon that very night after work. She was always ready to do anything for us boys; and we could never quite make out why they scolded her so for an idle hussy indoors. It seemed so unjust.

In a particular manner.

In the same manner or to the same extent as aforementioned; also.

* 1883 , (Howard Pyle), (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood)

*:"Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow," quoth Robin, "thou seemest happy this merry morn." ¶ "Ay, that am I," quoth the jolly Butcher, "and why should I not be so ? Am I not hale in wind and limb? Have I not the bonniest lass in all Nottinghamshire? And lastly, am I not to be married to her on Thursday next in sweet Locksley Town?"

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 19, author=Paul Fletcher, work=BBC Sport

, title= Blackpool 1-2 West Ham , passage=It was a goal that meant West Ham won on their first appearance at Wembley in 31 years, in doing so becoming the first team since Leicester in 1996 to bounce straight back to the Premier League through the play-offs.}}

(with as) To such an extent or degree; as.

Usage notes

Use of so''''' in the sense ''to the '''implied''' extent'' is discouraged in formal writing; spoken intonation which might render the usage clearer is not usually apparent to the reader, who might reasonably expect the ''extent'' to be made explicit. For example, the reader may expect ''He is '''so good'' to be followed by an explanation or consequence of how good ''he'' is. Devices such as use of underscoring and the exclamation mark may be used as a means of clarifying that the implicit usage is intended; capitalising ''SO'' is also used. The derivative subsenses ''very'' and ''very much are similarly more apparent with spoken exaggerated intonation. The difference between so'' and ''very'' in implied-extent usage is that ''very'' is more descriptive or matter-of-fact, while ''so'' indicates more emotional involvement. This ''so'' is used by both men and women, but more frequently by women. For example, ''she is very pretty'' is a simple statement of fact; ''she is so pretty'' suggests admiration. Likewise, ''that is very typical'' is a simple statement; ''that is SO typical of him!'' is an indictment. A formal (and reserved) apology may be expressed ''I am very sorry'', but after elbowing someone in the nose during a basketball game, a man might say, ''Dude, I am so sorry! in order to ensure that it's understood as an accident.Mark Liberman, "Ask Language Log: So feminine?", 2012 March 26

References

Synonyms

* (very) really, truly, that, very * (to a particular extent) that, this, yea * (in a particular manner) like this, thus * really, truly, very much

Derived terms

* or so * so-so * so there * so what

Adjective

(en adjective)

True, accurate.

*:“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so ,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”

In that state or manner; with that attribute. ((replaces the aforementioned adjective phrase))

* 1823 , , Martha

If this separation was painful to all parties, it was most so to Martha.

* 1872 , (Charles Dickens), J., The Personal History of (David Copperfield)

But if I had been more fit to be married, I might have made you more so too.

At twilight in the summeron the floor.

Homosexual.

Synonyms

* (true) correct, right, true * musical, one of the family, one of them, that way inclined

Derived terms

* make it so * more so

Interjection

(en interjection)

* , chapter=11

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=So , after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all.}}

Be as you are; stand still; used especially to cows; also used by sailors.

Noun

(en noun)

(label) A syllable used in to represent the fifth note of a major scale.

Abbreviation

(Abbreviation) (head)

someone

Synonyms

* sb

Statistics

Anagrams

* 100 English basic words 1000 English basic words English coordinating conjunctions English degree adverbs English demonstrative adverbs English discourse markers English intensifiers English pro-forms English two-letter words ----

until

English

Preposition

(English prepositions)

Up to the time of (something happening).

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)

, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.}}

Before (a time).

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Chico Harlan

, volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Japan pockets the subsidy … , passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}

(obsolete) To; physically towards.

* Spenser

He roused himself full blithe, and hastened them until .

Usage notes

It is typically assumed that circumstances have changed or could change at the referenced time. For instance, “All has gone well until now” implies that the current situation may not be so good.

Synonyms

* 'til (nonstandard), till, up to

Antonyms

* since

Conjunction

(English Conjunctions)

Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

*:It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)

, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}

Before (a condition becoming true).

*:It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.