Purpose, Reason, Result

In high level English, there are many expressions that can be used to talk about why something
happened or the consequences of an action. Good knowledge of these words and structures are
important as your English progresses.

Reasons

Because and as can be used both in the middle of sentences and at the beginning.

Examples

We left because/as it was late.

As it was so wet, the match never took place.

Because the rain never stopped, they postponed the match.

There are other words that can be used to give reasons. Many of these are more formal.

Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you why I didn't go to your dinner party.

The crowd grew angry at the statement, for they felt their demands had been ignored.

The weather is unusual, in that it's usually much warmer at this time of the year.

My job isn't very challenging, inasmuch as I rarely have to think about what I'm doing.

There are also several expressions using "of" that you can put in front of a noun or noun phrase.

Because of the high cost, we cancelled the vacation and stayed at home instead.

Owing to unforeseen circumstances, we won't be able to offer you the job after all.

She left him due to his disloyalty.

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Purpose & Results

The most common expression to talk about purpose in the Infinitive of Purpose, simply the word "to".

I crossed the road to speak to Gabriel.

More formally, this can be extended to "in order to" or "so as to" with the same meaning.

Examples

So as to get a better view, I opened the window.

We're going to Berlin in order to increase our European market.

In negative sentences, the not goes before "to".

I walked fast so as not to arrive too late.

For Doing vs. To Do

For + gerund and the infinitive of purpose are both used to talk about why you do/use something.

Compare

This is a liquid for removing oily stains.

She's using the liquid to remove an oily stain from the floor.

In the first, this is its general purpose. The second sentence talks about why she is using something.

So...That

We use so...that to talk about to connect a cause and a result.

Examples

He spoke so quietly (that) I couldn't hear a word he was saying.

So late was our boss that we thought he wasn't coming at all.