So, Could We Stop Beginning Every Bloody Sentence with “So”?

So, it’s come to this. We now live in a world where no sentence is safe from that most irritating of modern verbal barnacles – “so.” Not content with invading every meeting, podcast, and dinner table anecdote, it has now colonised directions too. “So, turn right.” Not “Turn right.” Not even “You’ll want to turn right here.” Just a breathy, self-important “So… turn right,” as if the speaker is delivering a TED Talk on the theory of junctions.

What was once a perfectly respectable coordinating conjunction – a hardworking little word that bravely linked clauses together with logical purpose – has now become the linguistic equivalent of a shrug in skinny jeans. It’s filler. Padding. A conversational marshmallow plopped onto the start of every thought to give it faux gravitas. “So, what do you do?” So, I begin every sentence like I’ve just solved Fermat’s last theorem, but I’m actually just asking if you’ve seen EastEnders.

Let’s be clear: beginning a sentence with “so” isn't technically wrong. The grammar police – those joyless souls who twitch at every split infinitive – would have to let it go. But being allowed to do something doesn’t make it a good idea. You’re allowed to wear socks with sandals too, but that doesn’t make you a style icon. At best, “so” is a sign you’ve spent too long on Zoom calls; at worst, it’s the verbal equivalent of standing in a room and announcing, “I am now going to say something intelligent,” only to follow up with, “It’s raining.”

And let’s not pretend this is harmless. Like “literally” used to mean “figuratively,” or “journey” to describe a contestant’s time on Bake Off, this trend is linguistic rot. It undermines the simple elegance of just saying what you mean. “Turn right.” Clean. Precise. Confident. “So, turn right.” Suddenly you’re not giving directions – you’re narrating your own satnav documentary, full of implied backstory and motivational subtext.

It’s the same tone of voice used by people who start sentences with “Let me just unpack that” – except there's nothing to unpack, it’s a bloody suitcase full of air. "So" gives the illusion of thought, like a furrowed brow on an empty head. It’s the verbal tick of a generation trained to hedge, delay, and sound clever without actually risking opinion.

So, where does it end? “So, I now pronounce you man and wife”? “So, I sentence you to five years’ imprisonment”? “So, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of unpadded speech”?

Let’s have some backbone, shall we? Speak plainly. Ditch the performative throat-clearing. Start a sentence like you mean it, not like you’re trying to win a BAFTA for Best Supporting Conjunction.

So – sorry – enough already. But language evolves.....