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    High degree specification so so
    quickinfo

    The so so-construction relates a certain high degree of a property of an argument to a proposition that will become true if that particular degree is reached. Consider the following:

    1
    Ek was so dom om dit te glo.
    I be.PRT PTCL.REL foolish for.COMP it PTCL.INF believe
    I was so foolish to believe it.

    Here the infinitival clause describes a state of affairs that only holds true if a certain high degree of foolishness of a person obtains. This may be considered as the high degree limit. The proposition expressed by the infinitival clause is true for all degrees equal to or higher than the high degree limit, and the proposition is false for all degrees lower than the high degree limit.

    In addition to the infinitival clause, high degree can also be specified by means of a finite clause:

    2
    Neels word so bang dat hy begin bewe.
    Neels become PTCL.REL afraid that.COMP he begins tremble
    Neels is getting so scared that he begins to tremble.

    and with an NP of comparison:

    3
    So vinnig soos weerlig verdwyn jou hoëtroustel.
    PTCL.SIMT quickly PTCL.SIMT lightning disappear your hi.fi.set
    As fast as lightning your Hi-Fi set will disappear.
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    With infinitival clause

    When a high degree of a property of an argument is described by means of the so so-construction, it can be specified by means of infinitival clauses, as in this example:

    4
    Sy was so dom om te glo hy was belangrik.
    she be.PRT PTCL.REL foolish for.COMP PTCL.INF believe he be.PRT important
    She was so foolish as to believe he was important.

    Achieving the property described by the adjective can also be equated (or being tantamount) to the action expressed by the infinitival clause, as in the sentence above, or in the following interrogative sentence:

    5
    Wie is so mal om dit te beweer?
    who be.PRS PTCL.REL crazy for.COMP it PTCL.INF allege
    Who is so crazy to allege that?

    Or in the imperative sentence below:

    6
    Wees asseblief so vriendelik om voor te stap.
    be.INF please PTCL.REL friendly for.COMP before PTCL.INF walk
    Please be so kind as to walk in front.

    The negative form of such constructions often occur to express the opposite, by way of litotes:

    7
    Ek is nie so onnosel om dit te glo nie.
    I be.PRS not PTCL.REL stupid for.COMP it PTCL.INF believe PTCL.NEG
    I am not so crazy to believe that.

    The implication is that the speaker regards him- or herself as too clever to believe what is being referred to.

    With finite clause

    The high degree of an adjective can be specified by a finite clause, as in this sentence:

    8
    Die lesing was so vervelig dat ek aan die slaap geraak het.
    the lecture be.PRT PTCL.REL boring that.COMP I on the sleep become.PST have.AUX
    The lecture was so boring that I fell asleep.

    As in the case of infinitival clauses, a negative clause may also specify the high degree, as in this example:

    9
    Dit word vir Piet so interessant dat hy nie meer kan stilsit nie.
    it become for Piet so interesting that.COMP he not more can.AUX.MOD still.sit PTCL.NEG
    It becomes so interesting to Piet that he cannot sit still anymore.

    With NP of comparison

    The high degree of an adjective may be specified by combining so so with a NP of comparison. Some examples are

    10
    Hy is so dronk soos 'n hoender.
    he be.PRS PTCL.SIMT drunk PTCL.SIMT a chicken
    He is as drunk as a lord.

    In such cases, it is immaterial what the cleverness is compared to, since the construction as a whole carries the high degree interpretation. Subsequently, the comparison phrase can be creatively used, and various idiomatic expressions are to be found in this category.

    11
    Sy is slu en so slim soos die houtjie van die galg.
    she be.PRS cunning and PTCL.SIMT clever PTCL.SIMT the wood.DIM of the gallows
    He is cunning and as sharp as a razor.
    12
    so skuldig soos môre heeldag
    PTCL.SIMT guilty PTCL.SIMT tomorrow the.whole.day
    as guilty as sin

    The comparison phrase may also be represented by the filler phrase nog iets something more:

    13
    Sy is so seker soos nog iets.
    she be.PRS PTCL.SIMT certain PTCL.SIMT something more
    She is as certain as can be.

    Comparisons like the first example below form collocations through frequent usage, and some may also have a morphological counterpart, as in seepglad soap.slippery very slippery.

    14
    so glad soos seep
    PTCL.SIMT slippery PTCL.SIMT soap
    as slippery as soap (= very slippery)

    The high degree limit may also be left unexpressed (as in English):

    15
    Hy was so gelukkig!
    he be.PRT PTCL.SIMT happy
    He was very happy!
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: "so" so – constructioninfinitival clausefinite clauseNP of comparison
      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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