INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE

and other things…

PROFESSOR ANA LÚCIA FONSECA
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How do you express purpose? N

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Purpose can be expressed with the prepositional phrase F
E
in order followed by an infinitive clause or that + a clause. S
S
O
The prepositional phrase in order is often omitted R
A
in informal speech. N
A
L
Eg.: - The surgeon operated in order to save his patient's life. Ú
C
- The surgeon operated in order that he might save his patient's life. I
A
F
- A nurse visits in order to check on a patient. O
N
- A nurse visits in order that s/he might check on a patient. S
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Purpose can be expressed with the preposition O
F
so folllowed by that + a clause E
S
S
(almost always with a modal can, will or may). O
R
Informally, that is omitted. A
N
(Do not place a comma before so because it changes the meaning A
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to "result".) Ú
C
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Eg.: - The surgeon operated so (that) he could save his patient's life. F
O
N
S
- A nurse visits so that s/he can check on a patient. E
C
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EMPHASIS PLACEMENT O
F
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An infinitive clause is moved to the front of a sentence to emphasize S
S
the purpose, or as an introductory clause. O
R
Place a comma after the clause. A
N
A
L
E.g.: To practice typing, I often go to the computer lab. Ú
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To find information, I always go the library lab. F
O
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To get an answer to a difficult problem, I talk to my professor. E
C
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NORMAL PLACEMENT O
F
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No comma is used when the infinitive clause is placed S
O
after the main clause. R
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N
A
L
E.g.: I often go to the computer lab to practice typing. Ú
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I always go the library lab to find information. F
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I talk to my professor to get an answer to a difficult problem. E
C
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When we express purpose, the infinitive is usually F
E
followed by a noun or a noun phrase. S
S
O
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To include in order before the infinitive is optional. A
N
A
L
E.g.: We go to the station to catch the train to work. Ú
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Steve enters his office to meet his co-workers. F
O
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S
A man walks into a bar to get a drink. E
C
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When we report an unexpected experience, the infinitive includes OF
to see, to hear, to smell, to find, or to discover E
S
followed by a clause (finite or nonfinite) with information about S
O
the surprising experience. R
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N
E.g.: We go to the station only to see the train leaving to other countries. AL
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Steve enters his office to find his co-workers talking about him. AI
F
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A man walks into a bar to hear his best friend had died. N
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 ERRORS
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Why did you come here? O
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- I came here for getting a good education. S
O
- I came here for to get a good education. R
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- I came here for get a good education. N
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CORRECT ANSWERS C
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- I came here to get a good education. F
O
- I came here in order to get a good education. N
S
- I came here so that I can get a good education etc. E
C
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 P
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O
F
I threw it away so that I won't eat them. E
S
S
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purpose R
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N
I threw it away in order to get rid of it. A
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purpose C
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I threw it away because I'm on a diet. F
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reason E
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Now, what to say about S
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the English infinitive as an N
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‘IRREALIS/REALIS’ marker? I
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F
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Grammatical mood refers to the way in which a F
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verb is used to express certain meanings by the S
O
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speaker or writer. A
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In Linguistics, moods are broken down into two L
Ú
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main categories: realis mood (expressing what is I
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real or true) and irrealis mood (expressing what F
O
N
is unreal, hypothetical or untrue). S
E
C
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We say the English infinitive serves E
S
S
as an ‘IRREALIS’ marker because it O
R
A
expresses possible future / vague N
A
L
futurity / potentiality / targeted Ú
C
I
A
alternative, i.e., it expresses F
O
N
unrealized events. S
E
C
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S
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There are, however, exceptions, R
A
N
when the English infinitive serves A
L
Ú
as a ‘REALIS’ marker. C
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F
O
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 A realis mood (abbreviated REAL) is a grammatical mood P
R
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which is used principally to indicate that something is a F
E
statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker S
S
considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative O
R
sentences. A
N
A
SHE WORKS. (indicative) L
Ú
By contrast, an irrealis mood is used to express something C
I
A
that is not known to be the case in reality. F
O
IT’S NECESSARY THAT SHE WORK. (subjunctive) N
S
E
GO HOME! (imperative) C
A
 P
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1. Infinitives used as Imperative and Conditional mood F
E
S
S
We can often rephrase an imperative by using an infinitive: O
R
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Do it twice a day! N
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That is to be done twice a day. L
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Infinitives as part of a conditional sentence: F
O
N
To have warned him would have been better. S
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 P
2. Infinitives used as Subject R
O
F
To err is human. E
S
S
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3. Infinitives as Infinitival Relative Clauses R
A
N
He is the ideal person in whom to confide A
L
Ú
(= the role of the infinitive here is the same as of a C
I
modal). A
F
O
He is the ideal person in whom I can confide. N
S
E
C
A
 4. Infinitives as Complements P
R
O
Intransitive verbs taking the infinitive as their complements F
E
can be divided into 04 groups: S
S
VERBS OF DESIRE O
R
I want/intend/desire to go home right away. A
N
VERBS OF EFFORT A
L
Ú
He tried/attempted to study English. C
I
VERBS OF PROBABILITY A
F
Ana seems/tends to be oversensitive. O
N
ASPECTUAL VERBS S
E
My mother started/began to cook the dinner. C
A
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How about reading more about A
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REALIS vs. IRREALIS Moods? Ú

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REFERENCES S
S
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Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and A
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Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009. A
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Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge C
Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002. I
A
F
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005. O
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