English speakers use so very often. ‘I think so.’ Or: ‘So, what’s next?’ Or: ‘that’s so amazing!’ Unfortunately, in Dutch, only the last one uses ‘zo’ the same way. Let’s learn when to use ‘zo’ in Dutch.
So in between sentences
One of the first mistakes I correct as a Dutch teacher, is using ‘zo’ in between sentences. It’s often used to combine sentences. But, in Dutch, we use ‘dus’. So drop the zo’s there.
So when do you use ‘zo’? Well, in Dutch, it has several meanings. One is ‘in this way‘ or ‘like this.’ So when someone asks: ‘how do you open the window’, and you’re showing it, you would say ‘zo’. Or, if you’d like to say ‘this way, we’ll never get there in time’, one also starts the sentence with zo. It’s also how a Dutch speaker would interpret ‘ik denk zo’. They would think you’d like to say you ‘think this way.’ Rather say ‘ik denk het’.
Another use is the same as in English, with an adjective. So good will be translated as ‘zo goed’. So big means ‘zo groot’. In this case, English speakers are quite safe. However, if you’d like to say ‘as big as … ‘ one would also use zo: ‘zo groot als’.
Another strange way to use zo is by saying ‘see you soon.’ One can use ‘tot zo’ in Dutch. Also, don’t confuse a zoo with zo. The one with animals is written in the same way as in English.
Exercise: fill in the missing words.
Jouw tuin is … mooi! Wil je dieren in jouw tuin? Dan wordt het een … ! Of wil je jouw tuin niet … veel veranderen? Tja. Je hebt geen tijd. … is het beter om geen dieren te kopen. Ik moet naar huis. Tot … !
Solutions: zo – zoo – zo – dus – zo
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