Online English private lessons and group courses with native speakers.

Click now to take advantage of discounts up to 50%.

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 just came to take Mike with me.Je suis juste venu pour prendre Mike avec moi.
Can you check the price tag to see if they are sold by the kilo or individually?Peux-tu vérifier le prix pour voir si nous devrions en acheter par kilo ou individuellement ?
Mike just went to get us some drinks.Mike va nous chercher des boissons.
To avoid making my payment!Pour éviter de me payer!
I brought him to see if he gets on well with Bear.Je l'ai amené ici pour voir s'il s'entend bien avec Bear.
Yeah, they reduce the price to get rid of them.Ouais, ils ont réduit les prix pour s'en débarrasser.
So I turned the stove up higher to cook faster.Alors j'ai augmenté la chaleur pour cuire plus vite.
I think you are doing this on purpose to annoy me.Je pense que tu le fais exprès pour m'importuner.
Alright, I need one of you to help me open the door.Très bien, j'ai besoin d'aide pour l'ouverture de la porte.
I knew you were waiting to ask that question!Je savais que t'attendais de me poser cette question!
What? Excuse me! Are you just calling to tell me this now?Quoi? Pardon? Tu m'appelles maintenant pour me dire ça?
Arrgh... I can't believe he suggested leaving Pogo to take the room!!!Arrgh... Je n'arrive pas à croire qu'il m'ait suggéré de laisser Pogo pour la chambre!!!
She called me last night to let me know about the clogged toilet...Elle m'a appelé l'autre soir à propos des toilettes bouchées...
You can bring Pogo one day to see if they get on well.Tu peux amener Pogo un de ces jours si tu veux pour voir s'ils vont bien ensemble.
It requires two people to do it...Il faut deux personnes pour l'ouvrir...
Excuse me!? I just played with the kids to keep them entertained.Excuse-moi ? J'ai juste joué avec les enfants pour les divertir.
I wonder how many times you brought her here to watch the sunset.Je me demande combien de fois tu l'as amenée ici pour voir le coucher du soleil.
I already did it a couple of months ago to find this one.Je l'ai déjà fait il y a quelques mois pour trouver celle-ci.
To guarantee our safety.Je garantis ta sécurité.
Are you here to talk about this issue, Nick?Ça te va de parler de ce problème Nick?

\
500\
\
\

There are no comments yet. Be the first one...
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