clauses: to, in order to, so as to

How to use: (so that; so as (not) to; for; to; in order to ) to explain “why“

Clauses of purpose to explain why

Use to, so as to, for, so that and in order to to explain why we do things (to express purpose)

They can be used like this:

• Mary: Where was John this morning?
• Colin: He went to the post-office.
• Mary: Why?
• Colin: To send some parcels to a customer in Japan.

The question “why?” isn’t necessary:

• Mary: Where was John this morning?
• Colin: He went to the post-office to send some parcels to a customer in Japan.

Alternatives to “to“

• He went to the post-office in order to send some parcels to a customer in Japan.
• He went to the post-office so as to send some parcels to a customer in Japan.

 to; in order to; so as to are followed by an infinitive

• I go to classes with Ian in order to improve my spoken English.
• Fred went to England to visit his friends.
• They study hard so as to get good marks in their exams.

with the negative:

• I get up early in order not to arrive late.
• They study hard so as not to fail their exams

with a noun use: for + noun

• We are going to Florida for a holiday.
• William goes to Mr. Forrester for extra help with Maths.

with a gerund use: for + gerund  to describe the specific purpose of a thing.

• This brush is for cleaning the car.
• I use this hard pencil for doing technical drawing

with a subject and modal verb use: so that + subject + modal verb

• I went to the bank so that I could talk to the manager.
• Gabrielle gave James an onion so that he would finish the dinner quickly.

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