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Infinitive of purpose Exercises

( Free Online English Grammar Lessons )

Read time : 1 minute

Form : ( To + infinitive (Verb 1) )

In English we often use an infinitive with to to talk about a person’s purpose.

  • He rose to speak. (Why did he rise? To speak.)
  • She came to the city to look for work. (Why did she come to the city? To look for work.)
  • He sat down to rest. (Why did he sit down? To rest.)

We can also use 'in order to' or 'so as to'.

  • She came to the city so as to look for work.

'So as to' and 'in order to' are more common before verbs like be, have, know etc.

  • He raised his voice so as to be heard.
  • He got up early in order to have enough time to pack.

Before a negative infinitive, we normally use 'so as' or 'in order'.

  • I am leaving now so as not to be late. (NOT I am leaving now not to be late.)

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.

  • I went to the shop for a newspaper.
Infinitive of purpose example sentences
I wonder how many times you brought her here to watch the sunset.Mi domando quante volte l’hai portata qui a guardare il tramonto.
Are you here to talk about this issue, Nick?Sei qui per parlare di questo problema, Nick?
I think she went upstairs to get some sleep.Credo sia andata di sopra a dormire un po’.
I need a couple of days to finish my projects...Ho bisogno di un paio di giorni per finire i miei progetti…
What? Excuse me! Are you just calling to tell me this now?Cosa? Scusa! Mi chiami per dirmelo solo ora?
To guarantee our safety.Per garantire la nostra sicurezza.
I already did it a couple of months ago to find this one.L’ho già fatto un paio di mesi fa per trovare questa.
Excuse me!? I just played with the kids to keep them entertained.Scusami!? Ho solo giocato con i ragazzi per farli divertire.
Maybe it's better for us to meet up somewhere to talk about this.Magari per noi è meglio incontrarci da qualche parte per parlarne.
I'm just calling you to check if you are ready.Ti sto chiamando per controllare se sei pronta.
No, it's only for people to have fun at an amusement park.No, è solo per far divertire la gente ad un parco giochi.
Arrgh... I can't believe he suggested leaving Pogo to take the room!!!Arrgh… Non riesco a credere che abbia suggerito di abbandonare Pogo per prendere la stanza!!!
I brought him to see if he gets on well with Bear.L’ho portato per vedere se va d’accordo con Bear.
So I turned the stove up higher to cook faster.Allora ho alzato il fornello per cuocere più in fretta.
Don't you have a cleaner to help keep the house clean?Non hai un addetto alle pulizie per tenere la casa pulita?
It requires two people to do it...Ci vogliono due persone per farlo…
Alright, I need one of you to help me open the door.Va bene, ho bisogno che uno di voi mi aiuti ad aprire la porta.
We can find you a better house to live in.Possiamo trovarti una casa migliore in cui vivere.
I'm here with a plumber to fix the clogged toilet.Sono qui con un idraulico per riparare il gabinetto intasato.
Mike just went to get us some drinks.Mike è andato a prenderci qualcosa da bere.

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Be going to
Be going to passive
Be used to / Get used to
Comparative
Defining relative clause
Echo tag
Expression
First conditional
Future
Future continuous
Future perfect continuous
Future perfect passive
Future perfect simple
Future simple passive
Greeting
Have/Get something done
Imperative
Implied conditional
Indirect question
Infinitive of purpose
Interjection
Mixed conditional
Modal
Modal passive
Non-defining relative clause
Other
Past continuous
Past continuous passive
Past perfect continuous
Past perfect passive
Past perfect simple
Past simple
Past simple passive
Polite request / offer / suggestion
Present continuous
Present continuous passive
Present perfect continuous
Present perfect passive
Present perfect simple
Present simple
Present simple passive
Question tag
Reduced relative clause
Reported speech imperative
Reported speech question
Reported speech request
Reported speech statement
Second conditional
Short answer
Superlative
Third conditional
Used to / would (past habit)
Was/were going to
Was/were supposed to
Wish
Would rather
Zero conditional