In order to, With a view to, So that | Linking Words of Purpose | English Lesson | C1-Advanced

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Hello and welcome everyone to this lesson,  which is all about linking words of purpose.  

Let me share my screen with you and take you  through the slides. So, a very common mistake  

that I hear is when you're sometimes asked a 'why'  question, like: Why have you joined this course? I  

sometimes hear you answer with 'for doing', like:  For improving my English. This is not the correct  

structure to answer this question with. You should  really just say: To improve my English . So,  

that's the most common mistake I hear, and  there are two other mistakes that I would like  

to mention to you. But before we look at those,  let's have a quick review of the linking words of  

purpose together. So, what does a linking word of  purpose do? It connects one action to its desired  

result, for example, we're really wanting to  know why are we doing action A, and it's for the  

purpose of achieving action B. We want a result,  a consequence. Action A is in the main clause,  

what we call the 'main clause', for example:  I've joined this course, and action B is in what  

we call the 'subordinate clause': to improve  my English. So, that's what they do for us,  

linking words of purpose. Now, let's look at the  types of linking words of purpose. I've divided  

them into three categories: informal, neutral,  and formal. So, looking at the informal ones:  

there are two words here that serve the purpose  of linking words. They are 'to' and 'so'. Now,  

if actions A and B are by the same person, so  in other words, we have the same subject in  

the main clause and in the subordinate clause,  both of these work: to and so. If you use 'to',  

you need to follow with the base verb to 'do', and  if you use 'so', you need to start a new sentence,  

for example: I've moved out the furniture to paint  the room. Or: I've moved out the furniture so I  

can paint the room. Now, if the actions A and B  in the two parts of the sentence are by different  

people, you only have one choice, and that's the  'so' structure: I've moved out the furniture so  

we can paint the room. so, these are the informal  ones. Let's look at the neutral linking words of  

purpose. They are: in order to and so that. Once  again, if actions A and B are by the same person,  

both formulas work: in order to + base verb, and  so that + sentence: I've moved out the furniture  

in order to paint the room, but I've moved out the  furniture so that I can paint the room. And once  

again, if the actions are by different people,  then only the 'so that' structure is possible:  

I've moved out the furniture so that we can paint  the room. Now the next category, the final one,  

is the formal linking words of purpose, and they  are subdivided into two categories themselves: the  

first one: linking expressions. And now we have:  so as to and in order that. Once again, exactly  

like we have seen with the other categories,  if the two actions are by the same person,  

you can use both formulations: so as to + the base  verb, and in order that + a new sentence. So, for  

example: They had amended the law so as to protect  employees' rights. Or: They had amended the law in  

order that they could protect employees' rights.  And once again, if the two actions, one in the  

main clause and one in the subordinate clause,  are by different people, we can only use the 'in  

order that' structure: They had amended the law in  order that it - 'it' referring to the law - could  

protect employees' rights. So, that's subcategory  1 of the formal Expressions, but we have a second  

group, and that is compound prepositions, and the  most common ones are: for the purpose of, with the  

aim or with the intention of, and with a view to.  And these expressions are really only appropriate  

when the person is the same in both clauses,  Action a and action B by the same person. And  

this time, after a compound preposition, you must  use, not the base verb anymore, but the gerund:  

doing. For example: They had amended the law with  the aim of protecting employees' rights. Right,  

before we look at the three common mistakes that  I mentioned in the beginning, two important notes:  

Note 1: If you want to emphasise the purpose,  you can start your sentence with the subordinate  

clause. Just make sure that you stress it with  your voice when when you speak, and separate it  

with a comma from the main clause when you write.  For example, you can, we can say: To avoid, or in  

order to avoid, any further delays, let's make  a decision now. Or: So you can hear me better,  

or so that you can hear me better, I'm going  to use a microphone. And with the prepositions:  

With a view to accelerating the process, we've  eliminated phase 2. So, don't forget to stress,  

with your voice, the subordinate clause that you  are putting at the beginning. Right, and the final  

note, note 2: Subordinate clauses with 'so',  'so that', and 'in order that', usually include  

a modal verb. In present and future situations,  we usually use 'can' in a positive subordinate  

clause, and 'won't' in a negative one, and  for past situations, we usually use 'could'  

in a positive subordinate clause and 'wouldn't'  in a negative one. Now we had the examples with  

'can' and 'could' in my previous examples, and  we will see the negative ones in a minute. So,  

let's now come to the common mistakes. The  first one, we've already looked at: that's  

using 'for' and the gerund. This formulation works  in many languages, but it doesn't in English. So,  

don't say: I'm sitting in the sun for getting a  suntan. That doesn't sound right. You need to use  

'to get'. I'm sitting in the sun to get a suntan,  or in order to, etc. the other ones that we saw  

together. You can only use 'for' if there's a real  noun not the gerund after 'for'. So, you can say,  

like we have seen: I'm sitting in the sun for  the purpose of getting a suntan. For the sake  

of speed, let's drop phase 2. Or: He's in Berlin  for the exhibition. So these are real nouns;  

they're not the gerund form. But, you cannot  say: He's in Berlin for attending the exhibition.  

You have to use 'to attend': He's in Berlin to  attend or in order to attend the exhibition. So,  

that we've looked at. Let's look at common mistake  number 2, and that's when we have a negative  

verb in the subordinate clause, and the common  mistakes you need to avoid are saying things like:  

I'm sitting in the shade to don't get sunburnt.  Or: I'm sitting in the shade to not get sunburnt.  

When the subordinate clause is negative, you can  only use 'in order' and 'so as'. So: I'm sitting  

in the shade in order not to get sunburnt. Or: I'm  sitting in the shade so as not to get sunburnt.  

Now, some native speakers switch the 'to' and  'not' with the expression 'in order'. They may,  

you may hear: I'm sitting in the shade in order to  not get sunburnt. It's rather common in American  

English, but personally, I would avoid it. Stick  to 'in order not to', 'so as not to'. Still  

staying with the negative verbs, we've just looked  at my note 2: If you have the structures: so,  

so that, and in order that, when it's positive,  use the modal verb 'can' or 'could' in the past,  

but not in the negative. So: I'm sitting in the  sun so I can get a suntan. But: I'm sitting in  

the shade so I won't get sunburnt, not: so I  can't. And in the past: Yesterday I sat in the  

Sun so I could get a suntan: positive. But, if  you make it negative, change 'could' to 'would':  

wouldn't: Yesterday, I sat in the shade  so I wouldn't get sunburnt. And the final  

common mistake to be aware of and to avoid is not  using the gerund after compound prepositions. So,  

avoid saying: They had amended the law 'with a  view to protect'. It's 'with a view to protecting'  

because 'to' here is a preposition. And don't say:  They're retraining the staff 'with the intention  

of increase'. 'of' is a preposition, so 'with  the intention of increasing' productivity. Okay,  

that's it for this lesson on linking words of  purpose. I hope it's given you a quick review and  

also made you aware of the common mistakes and how  to avoid them. I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.  

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