English (UK)
In English we often use an infinitive with to to talk about a person’s purpose.
We can also use 'in order to' or 'so as to'.
'So as to' and 'in order to' are more common before verbs like be, have, know etc.
Before a negative infinitive, we normally use 'so as' or 'in order'.
Notes for use of infinitive of purpose :
We say I came here to study English NOT I came here for studying English OR I came here for to study English.
We can use for + noun to say why we do something.
| Infinitive of purpose example sentences | |
|---|---|
| To guarantee our safety. | |
| I knew you were waiting to ask that question! | |
| I think she went upstairs to get some sleep. | |
| We can find you a better house to live in. | |
| I think you are doing this on purpose to annoy me. | |
| To avoid making my payment! | |
| I'm here with a plumber to fix the clogged toilet. | |
| I brought him to see if he gets on well with Bear. | |
| Excuse me!? I just played with the kids to keep them entertained. | |
| Yeah, they reduce the price to get rid of them. | |
| Alright, I need one of you to help me open the door. | |
| I took a half day off work to bring Pogo to the vet. | |
| I need a couple of days to finish my projects... | |
| What? Excuse me! Are you just calling to tell me this now? | |
| It helped me a lot to save some time. | |
| I'm just calling you to check if you are ready. | |
| So I turned the stove up higher to cook faster. | |
| Because I need the chicken stock to cook the rice in. | |
| Maybe it's better for us to meet up somewhere to talk about this. | |
| She called me last night to let me know about the clogged toilet... | |
