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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 already did it a couple of months ago to find this one.L’ho già fatto un paio di mesi fa per trovare questa.
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.
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 think she went upstairs to get some sleep.Credo sia andata di sopra a dormire un po’.
Yeah, they reduce the price to get rid of them.Già, riducono il prezzo per sbarazzarsene.
To avoid making my payment!Per evitare di pagarmi!
To guarantee our safety.Per garantire la nostra sicurezza.
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.
You can bring Pogo one day to see if they get on well.Puoi portare Pogo un giorno e vediamo se vanno d’accordo.
It requires two people to do it...Ci vogliono due persone per farlo…
Don't you have a cleaner to help keep the house clean?Non hai un addetto alle pulizie per tenere la casa pulita?
I just came to take Mike with me.Sono venuto solo per portare Mike via con me.
I'm just calling you to check if you are ready.Ti sto chiamando per controllare se sei pronta.
She called me last night to let me know about the clogged toilet...Lei mi ha chiamato notte scorsa per farmi sapere del gabinetto intasato…
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.
I will try to talk to her to solve the problem!Cercherò di parlarle per risolvere il problema!
Excuse me!? I just played with the kids to keep them entertained.Scusami!? Ho solo giocato con i ragazzi per farli divertire.
I think you are doing this on purpose to annoy me.Penso che tu lo stia facendo di proposito per infastidirmi.
Can you check the price tag to see if they are sold by the kilo or individually?Poi controllare l’etichetta per vedere se li vendono al chilo o singolarmente?
I knew you were waiting to ask that question!Sapevo che aspettavi di fare quella domanda!

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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