More Instructions on Use of English

'So'

This troublesome word is often used incorrectly to mean 'very', usually with an exclamation mark; 'Julia was so grateful when the torturers left!' meaning, 'Julia was immensely grateful when the torturers left.'

This custom has arisen because people ought to be employing the expression 'so... that...' eg. 'Julia was so grateful when the torturers left that she permitted herself a wan smile.'

Exclamation marks should be used with extreme care and are rarely a good idea. 
 



The Queen fascinated by details of my journey 

Beware of sentences like this one, where the 'so' has got in without an exclamation mark to put you on your guard: 'It was my travel arrangements that the Queen found so interesting.'  Here the writer should put 'The Queen found my travel arrangements very interesting,' or, 'The Queen found my travel arrangements so interesting that she questioned me about them at length.'
 

N.B. 'such' holds identical dangers. 'It was such a relief for Julia when the torturers laid down their instruments!'  Such a relief that... what? Come, come. 'It was such a relief for Julia when they laid down their instruments that she thanked the torturers piteously.'   Poor old Julia. 

 

Journalists have developed the habit of beginning their articles with 'so.'  Eg. 'So it's Saturday morning and the torturers are wiping the smile off Julia's face.' This is a very fine example as it uses the present tense as well. Here, 'so' is completely meaningless and is only there to increase the word-count.
It is possible that the columnist imagines that it sounds friendly and makes the reader feel as though he is being personally addressed; if this is the case the columnist deludes himself and should be furnished with a P45.
 

Cancel your subscription to any newspaper that permits the practice. We must fight back, everyone.