[Ads-l] ADS-L Digest - 14 Nov 2017 to 15 Nov 2017 (#2017-318)

[Wilson Gray]

As I've said 😜, those uses seem fine to me.

On Thu, Nov 16, 2017 at 12:15 PM, Shawnee Moon <moon.shawnee at gmail.com>
wrote:

> (Re: Use of So at beginning of sentence)
>
> In your opinion, is the use of ‘So’ at the start of a sentence always bad?
> The examples posted seem to be placeholder words, as if the speaker was
> unprepared; like it is a slightly less awkward word than “um.”
>
>  I’ve written a book, (going through it, editing from start to finish,
> again) and I have used it at the beginning of a sentence, in a “this
> happened, so that happened” kind of manner. Below are two short excerpts. I
> added enough text so you could see in what context it is being used.
>
> “...In the lobby, sitting patiently on a couch, was a well groomed,
> attractive man in a suit, with that stuff that makes men’s hair shiny and
> immovable in his dark brown hair. I apologized for my appearance, and asked
> what I could do for him.
>
> “We heard about you, and I wanted to do a story about you and your walk,”
> he said. “I’m Matt Doyle, lead anchor on the local NBC affiliate.” He
> extended his hand.
>
> “Where did you hear about me?” I asked him as I shook it. “Was it a woman,
> an older woman?”
>
> “Yes, it was a woman that told us. She had the wrong hotel...”
>
> “Yes, she dropped me at the AmericInn next door.”
>
> So he interviewed me there in the lobby, and then he followed me up to my
> room to see the gear ...”
>
> And another:
>
> “Shawnee,” I said, as I shook his. “I’m Scott, you’re not.” he smiled. He
> then said again, “I have a spare room, it has a couch that unfolds into a
> bed. You are more than welcome to stay with me.” The lady at the desk
> nodded and said she knew him and would vouch for him, and go ahead, not to
> worry.
>
> So I agreed to stay at his place. It saved money, and always makes for an
> interesting evening, meeting someone new.”
> —-
> Is the word ‘so’ out of place in these instances? The book is nonfiction,
> and I’m not trying to win a Pulitzer, but I don’t want it to be clunky or
> grammatically incorrect. Thanks.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org