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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
What? Excuse me! Are you just calling to tell me this now?Cosa? Scusa! Mi chiami per dirmelo solo ora?
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…
So I turned the stove up higher to cook faster.Allora ho alzato il fornello per cuocere più in fretta.
I'm just calling you to check if you are ready.Ti sto chiamando per controllare se sei pronta.
It requires two people to do it...Ci vogliono due persone per farlo…
Are you here to talk about this issue, Nick?Sei qui per parlare di questo problema, Nick?
I'm here with a plumber to fix the clogged toilet.Sono qui con un idraulico per riparare il gabinetto intasato.
Yeah, they reduce the price to get rid of them.Già, riducono il prezzo per sbarazzarsene.
I will try to talk to her to solve the problem!Cercherò di parlarle per risolvere il problema!
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?
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!!!
It helped me a lot to save some time.Mi ha aiutato a risparmiare un po' di tempo.
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 knew you were waiting to ask that question!Sapevo che aspettavi di fare quella domanda!
Don't you have a cleaner to help keep the house clean?Non hai un addetto alle pulizie per tenere la casa pulita?
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.
I brought him to see if he gets on well with Bear.L’ho portato per vedere se va d’accordo con Bear.
I need a couple of days to finish my projects...Ho bisogno di un paio di giorni per finire i miei progetti…
I think you are doing this on purpose to annoy me.Penso che tu lo stia facendo di proposito per infastidirmi.
Because I need the chicken stock to cook the rice in.Perché ho bisogno del brodo di pollo per cuocerci il riso.

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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