So ADJ/ADV that clause patterns in Early Modern English medical writing

Abstract

This paper investigates how an intensifying phraseological pattern involving the adverb so followed by a delayed declarative content clause is used in medical English in the early modern period (1500–1700). So may occur with adjectival, nominal or adverbial heads, and the pattern is used for indicating degree, extent or manner. The analysis employs the recently published Early Modern English Medical Texts corpus to show (i) that the pattern was in use throughout the entire period, (ii) that it tends to be more frequently used in learned rather than popular texts, and (iii) that it is typically used for giving descriptions and less often in instructions.