Substituting for something already mentioned: using 'so' and 'not'

'so' as substitute complement 9.24 'So' is sometimes used in formal English as a substitute for a complement that has already been mentioned of implied.

They are wildly inefficient and will remain so for some time to come.

Undaunted by his first setbacks, perhaps stubbornly so, he lashed his mechanics to greater efforts.

Its impact was enormous everywhere but nowhere more so than in the Soviet Union.

'so' and 'not' after 'if' 9.25 'So' is used to substitute for a clause after 'if', when the action or situation you are talking about has already been mentioned.

Will that be enough? If so, do not ask for more.

'Not' is used to substitute for a negative clause, to imply the opposite situation to the one already mentioned.

You will probably have one of the two documents mentioned below. If not, you will have to buy one.

'so' and 'not' with reporting verbs 9.26 'So' and 'not' are also used to substitute for clauses after some common reporting verbs. They are also used after the expression 'I'm afraid', which is used to report an unwelcome fact.

'Are you all right?'—'I think so.'

You're a sensible woman—I've always said so.

'You think he's dead, don't you?'—'I'm afraid so, Sally.'

'It doesn't often happen.'—'No, I suppose not.'

'You haven't lost the ticket, have you?'—'I hope not.'

Here is a list of reporting verbs which can be followed by 'so' and 'not':

believe expect

hope say

suppose tell

think

Note that the use of 'not' as a substitute with 'think', 'expect', and 'believe' is rare or formal. Also, 'not' is not used with 'tell', and when it is occasionally used with 'say', there is a modal in front of 'say'.

Occasionally 'so' is put at the beginning of the clause. This often has the effect of casting doubt on the truth of the fact involved.

Everybody in the world, so they say, has a double.

'So' can also be used at the beginning of a clause for emphasis. This is explained in paragraph 10.85.

9.27 'Do so' is used to mean 'perform the action just mentioned'. The various forms of the verb 'do' can be used. This structure is rather formal.

A signal which should have turned to red failed to do so.

Most of those who signed the letter did so because of her involvement.

She asked him to wait while she considered. He did so.

British governments are perfectly capable of improving drinking water quality, and perhaps they should voluntary have done so before now.

Comparing with something already mentioned

9.28 The word 'such' can be used in several ways to provide cohesion. You use it when you want to indicate ways to provide that something is of the same sort as something that has already been mentioned. The re grammatical patterns of 'such' are unique. It can behave as a determiner, a, and an adjective.

9.29 'Such' can be a determiner referring back to something that has already been mentioned.

Some 60% of the state's electricity comes from burning imported oil, the highest use of such fuel in the country.

New business on a small scale has been found to provide the great majority of new jobs. By their nature such business take risks.

9.30 'Such' can be a predeterminer (see paragraph 1.236) referring to something that has already been mentioned. It comes in front of the determiner 'a' or 'an'.

They lasted for hundreds of years. On a human time scale, such a period seems an eternity.

On one occasion the school parliament discussed the dismissal of a teacher. But such an event is rare.

9.31 'Such' can be an adjective referring back to something that has already been mentioned.

To meet the demand there are now many new agencies providing mainly female cooks to cater for the boardrooms. One such agency, M and N, has about a hundred upper class girls on its books.

Not only did he fail to admit the impropriety of his behaviour, he actually pretended that he had hadn't done any such thing.

Mr Bell's clubs were privately owned. Like most such clubs everywhere, they were organizations of congenial people who shared a certain interest.

I hated the big formal dances and felt very awkward and out of place at the one or two such events I attended.

9.32 'Such' is also sometimes used as a headword after 'one' and 'many' informal usage.

So many advocates of freedom have not got their feet on the ground. One such protested to the recently because I shouted sternly at a problem boy of seven.

It is not surprising that people are prepared to envisage radical alternatives. Many such have been proposed in the last few years.

adjectives 9.33 There are a number of adjectives which are used to indicate a comparison, contrast, or connection with something that has already been mentioned.

'same' 9.34 The adjective 'same' is used attributively to indicate emphatically that you are referring back to something that has just been mentioned.

We accept that thought is a common property of the human race. But we cannot make the same assumption about machines.

The door opened and a man popped his head into the room and said 'Next please'. About ten minutes later, the same man returned.

He watched her climb into a compartment of the train and he chose the same one so as to watch her more closely.

Note that when 'same' is used attributively, it nearly always follows 'the', but it can occasionally follow other specific determiners.

These same smells may produce depression in others.

9.35 'Same' can also be the complement of a link verb when you want to indicate that something is similar in every way to something that has just been mentioned. When 'same' is used after a link verb it always follows 'the'.

The Queen treated us very well. The Princess Royal was just the same.

My brothers and myself were very poor, but so happy. I think other families were the same.

9.36 You can also use 'the same' without a following noun as the subject or object of a clause, to refer back to something that has just been mentioned.

The conversion process is inefficient and about two-thirds of the energy is wasted. The same is true of nuclear power station.

'I've never heard of him.'—'I wish I could say the same.'

'The same thing' can be used exactly like 'the same', as a subject or object.

He was stopped and send back to get a ticket. On the return journey the same thing happened.

I learnt how to kill people with my bare hands. And I'm not proud of the fact that I taught a number of other people to do the same thing.

9.37 The adjectives 'opposite' and 'reverse' are used to indicate that something is as different as possible from the thing that has already been mentioned. They usually follow 'the'.

It was designed to impress, but probably had the oppose effect.

I don't do a lot of reading but my brother is just the opposite.

In the past ten years I think we've seen the reverse process.

This time the position is the reverse.

When 'opposite' is used attributively, it occasionally follows 'an'.

Others of the same period took an opposite view.

You can sometimes use 'the opposite' and 'the reverse' without a following noun to refer back to something.

I once heard a police commissioner say that we would have to learn to live with crime. The opposite is true; we have to learn not to live with crime.

He has an excellent record of saying one thing and doing the opposite.

We have gained better health by exchanging fat for more efficient muscles. The reverse is also true.

It hasn't happened. The reverse has happened.

9.38 You can also use a variety of other adjectives to indicate that something is similar to, different from, or connected with something that has already been mentioned. Some of these adjectives are only used attributively and others can also be complements of a link verb.

It's really fabulous. Do you think that there are any other comparable tombs left at all?

She wore a red dress with a red matching straw hat.

West Germany, Denmark and Italy face declines in young people. Ireland is confronted with a contrasting problem.

That's what I would say. But his attitude was different altogether.

Here is a list of adjectives which can only be used attributively to refer back:

adjacent conflicting contradictory

contrary contrasting corresponding

equal equivalent matching

opposing parallel

Here is a list of adjectives which can be used both attributively and as complements to refer back:

analogous comparable compatible

different identical related

separate similar unrelated

9.39 To indicate that an action or a way of doing something is similar to the one just mentioned, you can use the adjuncts 'in the same way', 'in a similar way', 'similarly', or 'likewise'.

She spoke of Jim and Karl tolerantly but with frowns and sighs. And presumably she spoke to them of me in the same way.

As the children surged silently around them, the soldiers glanced along the line to see their colleagues similarly surrounded.

9.40 To indicate that an action or a way of doing something is different from the one just described, you can use the adjuncts 'otherwise' and 'differently'.

I thought life was simply splendid, I had no reason to think otherwise.

She had been ashamed of her actions but she had been totally incapable of doing otherwise.

The British have been slow off the mark. They do things differently in America.