Meaning of "do so"

Question

I found following sentence on one of Youtube videos I've watched. I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me what is the meaning of "do so" in the following sentence. In addition, is the meaning of "on account" similar to "because of"? So, is it feasible to remove "do so" without changing the meaning of the sentence?

Most people who fail this test do so on account of their lack of preparation.

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

dileepa I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me what is the meaning of "do so" in the following sentence.

It's just a way to refer to the previous item in the sentence without repeating it. Do so means do (the thing just mentioned).

Most people who fail this test, (fail this test) on account of their lack of preparation.

dileepaIn addition, is the meaning of "on account (of)" similar to "because of"?

Yes.

dileepaSo, is it feasible to remove "do so" without changing the meaning of the sentence?

No, not really. You'd have to rewrite the sentence. If you remove do so you would have to remove who as well, and then the meaning would change, as it would make the group referred to "People who take the test" and not "People who take the test and fail it".

CalifJim · Answer

Here are some sentences with "do so" that you can use as practice exercises.

When companies buy wind contracts, they tend to do so for 10 to 20 year periods.
It's hard to be open and authentic, but it is both tough-minded and kind to do so.
Delta doesn't even fly to Saudi Arabia, and has no plans to do so in the future.
Palestinians who wish to move back to Israel can do so, but as Israeli citizens.
Students should report such incidents to a teacher, even if they do so anonymously.
It's sometimes hard to understand spoken English, but you can do so with practice.

"do so" replaces words previously used in each example. Can you find them?

CJ

Meaning of "do so"

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