Tuesday 9 April 2013

The Clause Substitute 'So'

Halliday & Matthiessen (2004: 464):
This is why so, which is a clause substitute, has the general sense of ‘non-real’, by contrast with what is ‘real’. Besides projection, where it signifies what is asserted or postulated, it is used in two other contexts: hypothetical, as opposed to actual, and possible, as opposed to certain.