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Så - is not just a function word: learn how the word order may change the meaning

Elena Sokolova, October 17^th 2020

Are you doing a written assignment and still not sure whether you should make inversion (i.e. put the verb before the subject) in the part of the sentence containing så? In this blog post, you’ll learn to see in the depth of ‘så’-meanings and will see, how the word order can change the meaning of the phrase.

How to distinguish different meanings of så?

The main trick is that you need to distinguish, whether så is used in the sentence as an adverb or as conjunction?

How to see that it’s an adverb?

There are three adverbial meanings of så you need to distinguish.

Addition/sequence/order of activities/phenomena or objects.

The check word is often bagefter (then, afterwards, after that, plus, on top of that). Så triggers inversion just like any other time-phrase (i dag/for nogle år siden…), e.g.:

Først ryddede jeg op til festen og gjorde rent, så (bagefter) købte jeg ind og lavede mad.

Der er flere faktorer, der spiller ind, om man får negativ social arv, f.eks. forældrenes uddannelsesniveau og kulturvaner, og så betyder det ligeledes meget, om det at uddannese sig er en værdi i sig selv i familien.

Degree or emphasis.

The check word is often meget (very/that much/so), e.g.:

Jeg var så træt, da jeg kom hjem fra arbejde i går. Inversion applies only in case the sentence starts with e.g. så + adverb of manner or an adjective:

Så hurtigt kan man da ikke lære et fremmedsprog.

Conditioned consequence. Så is placed in the main clause, after a dependent ‘hvis’- clause.

The check phrase is often in that case, then. ‘Hvis A…, så B… -structure’ is often used in a colloquial/oral language, but can be and should be preferably omitted in the written language.

Hvis det ikke regner, (så) tager jeg på stranden.

Hvis vi kun diskuterer et aspekt af problemstillingen, får vi ikke alle argumenter med.

How to see that ‘så’ is conjunction?

1. There should be a complex sentence, i.e. at least two subjects/agents having each their action verb.
2. Så as conjunction works as a connector to express the logical relations between two or more parts (clauses) in a sentence. These relationships can be of two kinds: cause and result(consequence) and purpose.

Now that you are sure, så is not an adverb, you need to decide, whether så expresses the logical relation of consequence/result or purpose.

‘Så’ in the meaning derfor (consequence/result)

When så expresses the consequence/result - just as derfor - it introduces another main clause, but unlike ‘derfor’ it does not require inversion.

See examples below, which have the same meaning, but a different word order in the second main clause:

Der er mange ulemper ved skiftende arbejdstider, så (=therefore/that’s why) mange familiemennesker vælger et job med faste arbejdstider.

Der er mange ulemper ved skiftende arbejdstider, derfor (therefore/that’s why) vælger mange familiemennesker job med faste arbejdstider.

However, in case you have any time/place/object/an adverb after så, the general rule applies about the inversion. E.g.:

Der er mange ulemper ved skiftende arbejdstider, så (=therefore/that’s why) derfor vælger mange familiemennesker et job med faste arbejdstider.

Der er mange ulemper ved skiftende arbejdstider, så ofte/normalt/i de fleste tilfælde vælger mange familiemennesker et job med faste arbejdstider.

If you have a central adverb in the clause with så, then the main sentence rule ‘SVA’ will apply. E.g.:

Der er mange ulemper ved skiftende arbejdstider, så der er ikke så mange familiemennesker, der vælger et job uden faste arbejdstider.

‘Så’ in the meaning til formål at gøre noget (so that/with the purpose of)

When så expresses ‘so that/with the purpose of (that)’ - it stands in the dependent clause, which does not have meaning when staying alone (it’s a way to check, whether you have a dependent or an indepenent clause). This så-clause can never have inversion (the verb never comes before the subject) as in any other dependent clause (ledsætning). Så is sometimes used with at - så at, very similar to English ‘so that’. In Danish, however, at is not compulsory and is often considered heavy/too formal.

• Maria har valgt at skifte til fleksible arbejdstider (main clause), så hun sommetider/altid kan få tidligere fri, hvis det er nødvendigt (dependent clause)*.

You can always check, if så means ‘so that’ by asking the question ‘Why, for which purpose?’ to the main clause. E.g.:

• Hvorfor har Marina valgt at skifte til fleksible arbejdstider? => Så hun altid kan få fri tidligere fri nogle dage.

Note, that in the clause of purpose, the order SAV applies. Very often a preverbal position of an adverb is mistakenly taken for inversion. I always advise my students to think about inversion only applicable to verbs.

See how the word order/inversion may change the meaning of the phrase:

• Naboerne spillede høj musik, så (therefore) jeg kunne ikke sove. = The neighbours were playing loud music, that’s why I could not sleep.

• Naboerne spillede høj musik, så jeg ikke kunne sove. = The neighbours were playing loud music so that I could not sleep. (They wanted me not to sleep).

Så nu håber jeg, I har lært at bruge ‘så’ i forskellige betydninger!

Hvis I glemmer noget om ‘så’, så kan I altid tjekke det på ‘sokolova.dk’.

Do you have questions, comments or suggestions - email to elena@sokolova.dk.