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    High degree pronominalisation
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    The deictic element so so, without a complement, can be used for the pronominalisation of a high degree:

    1
    So kort was sy.
    so short be.PRT she
    That was how short she was.

    The near-synonymous element soos as is used in conjunction with so for anaphoric (or cataphoric) references, as in this example:

    2
    Sy humeur was so kort soos 'n outydse bomlont.
    his temper be.PRT so short as an old.fashioned bomb.fuse
    His temper was as short as an old fashioned bomb fuse.
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    To indicate a high degree of the quality denoted by an adjective, the deictic element so so can be used by way of pronominalisation, without a complement, as in this example:

    3
    So hoog het dit al gerank.
    so high have.AUX it already climbed
    That was how high it has climbed already.

    The near synonymous element soos as cannot be used deictically without a complement, as in:

    4
    *Soos hoog het dit al gerank.
    as high have.AUX it already climbed
    *As high it has already climbed.

    It requires the addition of an equative complement, which incorporates both so and soos:

    5
    wanneer die water so hoog soos jou kop en hoër na jou aangestorm kom
    when the water as high as you head and higher to you on.rushed comes
    when the water comes rushing to you as high as your head, and higher

    In equative constructions, as in the sentence above, so can be reinforced by the addition of net just before so in the following way:

    6
    Sy sal hom vertrou net so ver soos sy hom kan sien.
    she will.AUX.MOD him trust just as far as she him can.AUX.MOD see
    She will trust him just as far as she can see him.

    The emphasis added by net so often renders the use of soos superfluous, so that the sentence may also read:

    7
    Sy sal hom vertrou net so ver sy hom kan sien.
    she will.AUX.MOD him trust just as far she him can.AUX.MOD see
    She will trust him just as far (as) she can see him.
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      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: pronominalisation of a high degree
      Version: 1.0, May 2020
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed May 2020
      This is a beta version.
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