So verb that

Question

I'm not sure what "so" refers to and what "so" is used to mean in the writing.

I think in the second sentence, "so" should be placed right after "his habits" as in "A man must train his habits so that he can rely upon..."

I'm really not sure why "so" is placed right before "train". "so" doesn't seem to make much sense in the position, because in this case, it's obvious it's used to mean "in this way".

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

The given passage is okay. "So" here means something like "take the necessary steps to" or "make the personal sacrifices required to"

Blue Jay · Answer

fire1I'm not sure what "so" refers to and what "so" is used to mean in the writing.I think in the second sentence, "so" should be placed right after "his habits" as in "A man must train his habits so that he can rely upon..."I'm really not sure why "so" is placed right before "train". "so" doesn't seem to make much sense in the position, because in this case, it's obvious it's used to mean "in this way".

It's rather old-fashioned phrasing, but so here refers to train, and the sentence would mean "A man must train his habits in such a way that he can rely upon his own powers and depend upon his own courage in moments of emergency". While the general sense would be the same, placing so after habits would change the meaning slightly, to "A man must train his habits in order that he can rely upon his own powers and depend upon his own courage in moments of emergency". The original emphasizes train in a way that the revised version does not.

CalifJim · Answer

fire1I think in the second sentence, "so" should be placed right after "his habits" as in "A man must train his habits so that he can rely upon..."

Correct. That is the preferred word order in modern English. It is nearly impossible to find examples of this older pattern in modern English, where "so" is placed earlier in the sentence, before the verb.

CJ

So verb that

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