What is substitution? It replaces a repetitive word or phrase with a pronoun (one or ones), a phrase (do so or if so), or even a simple clause (so can I or neither should you).
One, Ones
- ‘Do you need a pen?’ ‘No, I’ve already got one.’
- Are you going to wear these trousers or the ones that I gave you?
Do so, Do it, Do that
- If I can help, I’ll be happy to do so. (help)
- I won’t apologize, because doing so (apologizing) would be admitting that I was wrong.
- They told me to be quiet and I did it/that/so. (be quiet)
If so, If not
- Do you want to be better at what you do? If so, pay attention to what I have to say.
- Mr Chen should be there when you arrive. If not, just give me a call.
To avoid repeating phrases, we can combine so and not with a variety of verbs (assume, believe, expect, guess, hope, imagine, presume, suppose, suspect, say, tell someone, think) and expressions (be afraid, it seems, it appears).
Verbs + so or not
- Assume: “Are they going to win?” “I assume so.”
- Believe: “Will it be a difficult test?” “I don’t believe so.”
- Expect: “Did they enjoy the party?” “I expected so.”
- Guess: “Who left the window open?” “I guess it wasn’t me.”
- Hope: “Will you be able to make it?” “I hope so.”
- Imagine: “What if they cancel the flight?” “I can’t imagine so.”
- Presume: “Is this the right bus?” “I presume so.”
- Suppose: “Do you think they’ll understand?” “I suppose so.
- Suspect: “Someone must have seen what happened.” “I suspect so.”
- Tell someone: “I told him I wouldn’t be long.” “You told him so.”
- Think: “Do you think it will rain?” “I don’t think so.”
Expressions + so or not
- Be afraid: “Can I borrow your phone?” ”I’m afraid not.”
- It seems/appears: “There’s nobody home.” ”It seems so.”
References