Page 167 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

D o s o ; s u c h

do so
We use do so instead of repeating a verb + object or verb + complement when it is clear from the
context what we are talking about. We can also use does so, did so, doing so, etc.:
• She won the competition in 1997 and seems likely to do so (= win the competition) again
this year.
• Dr Lawson said, 'Sit down.' Cathy did so (= sat down), and started to talk about her
problems.
• The climbers will try again today to reach the summit of the mountain. Their chances of
doing so (= reaching the summit of the mountain) are better than they were last week. (In
very formal English we can also use so doing.)
• When he was asked to check the figures, he claimed that he had already done so. (= checked
the figures)

Do so is most often used in formal spoken and written English. In informal English we can use
do it or do that rather than do so:
• Mrs Bakewell waved as she walked past. She does so/it/that every morning.
• Ray told me to put in a new battery. I did so/it/that, but the radio still doesn't work.
We can also use do alone rather than do so in less formal English, especially after modals or
perfect tenses (see also B):
• 'Will this programme work on your computer?' 'It should do.'
• I told you that I'd finish the work by today, and I have done, ('have' is stressed here)

D Study the following sentences:

do so do (not do so)
• 65% of the members voted for Ken Brown • John doesn't like Porter's films but I do.
this time, whereas 84% did so last year. (not ...I do so.)
• Kenyon confessed to the murder, although • I never expect them to remember my
he only did so after a number of witnesses birthday, but they usually do. (not
had identified him as the killer. ...usually do so.)
We can use do so instead of verbs that describe actions (dynamic verbs), such as vote and
confess. We don't use do so with verbs that describe states, such as like and remember.

such
We can use such + (a/an) + noun to refer back to something mentioned before, with the meaning
'of this/ that kind'. We use such + noun when the noun is uncountable or plural, and such + a/an
+ noun when the noun is countable:
i • They needed someone who was both an excellent administrator and manager. Such a person
* was not easy to find.
• We allow both men and women to have time off work to bring up children. We were the
first department to introduce such a scheme.
• The students refer to teachers by their first names and will often criticise them for badly-
prepared lessons. Such behaviour is unacceptable in most schools.
• When asked about rumours that the company is preparing to shed more than 200 jobs, a
spokeswoman said: 'I know of no such plans.'
Such is used in this way mainly in formal speech and writing. More informally we can use, for
example, 'A person like this...', '...a scheme of this kind.', 'This sort of behaviour...', etc.