Speaker 1: Have you ever had to explain why you did something
and then suddenly your brain freezes, like do I say
I did it to help or so that I can help?
Or is it in order to help so as to help? Ugh,
it can get confusing, but don't worry. That's what we're
going to sort out today.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode nine fifty six.
So that so as to in order to and to
talking about purpose in English. Hey, thanks to tuning in. So
why are you listening to this podcast? Maybe it's so
that you can improve your English, or in order to
sound more natural, or just to have fun learning something today. Well,
whether you say so that in order to so as
to or too, you're talking about the purpose of doing something.
And that's what these expressions are all about, showing the
reason or goal behind an action. And let's start with
the simplest one. Two. You can use two followed by
a verb to show purpose, and this is the most
common one in everyday conversational English, like I got up
early to go to the airport, or I'm studying hard
to get a good grade on the test. Using two
followed by a verb like this is short and totally natural.
We use this a lot and spoken English because it's quick,
like I went to the store to buy milk. That's
the reason I went to buy milk. Easy. Right. Now,
let's take that same idea and make it a little
bit more formal with in order to in order to
also shows a purpose. It's the same idea, but it
sounds a bit more serious or formal, like Jenny left
work early in order to meet her sister for dinner,
or I'm saving money in order to travel next year
in order to has the same meaning as just too
plus a verb, but it gives your sentence a little
more weight, more importance, like the boss said, we need
a better marketing campaign in order to increase sales. Now
here's a tip. In everyday conversations, we usually don't say
in order to unless you want to sound very clear
or very formal, but it does come up in presentations, writing,
or formal speech, like the company changed the policy in
order to improve communication, or we need to act now
in order to prevent problems. Now there's also a more
formal phrase that you might come across so as to.
This one also means the same thing as to or
in order to, and we usually see so as to
in writing or more formal speech, like the company implemented
new security protocols so as to minimize the risk of
data breaches. This sounds like something you read in a
business report or company announcement. Here's another one. The government
adjusted the text policy so as to stimulate economic growth
in rural areas. Personally, I don't use this one much
in everyday conversation, but it's good to recognize, especially if
you're reading something formal like a news article or a
business email, or you're taking one of those pestke exams
like ailts or tofol Okay, now let's move on to
sw that. So that is different because so that needs
a full sentence after it, a subject and a verb,
like I got up early so that I could catch
the train. We moved the meeting earlier so that everyone
could attend. Again, remember that, so that is followed by
a subject and a verb, not just a verb. You
can also use so that to talk about results or
goals in a more personal way, like I take notes
so that I can remember what I learned, or I
speak clearly so that my students can understand me. Now
you might be wondering what's the difference between two, and
so that we use too when the subject is the
same in both parts of the sentence, like I take
notes to remember what I learned. That works same subject
I in both parts. But when the subjects are different,
you usually need sow that, like I explain things clearly
so that my students understand. You can't say I explain
things clearly to my students understand or something like that.
That's not right because my students is a different subject
from I. So so that connects those two parts together.
And here's another tip. So that sometimes gives a feeling
of intention or care, especially when you're doing something to
help someone else, Like I printed out the documents so
that everyone could read them. It shows you did something
on purpose for a reason that helps others. Okay, let's
do a quick recap. Two followed by a verb is
short and very conversational. I go to the gym to
stay healthy. In order to is more formal, I go
to the gym in order to improve my health. So
that needs a subject in a verb, I go to
the gym so that I stay healthy, and so as
to is the most formal sounding and is generally used
in writing, like the Committee revised the policy so as
to ensure compliance with international regulations. You can use any
of these to talk about purpose. Just keep in mind
the tone and sentence st and Hey, keep in mind
the best way to remember English like this and any
other word or phrase in English, is to take that
word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true
for you or true in your world, and then memorize
your sentences. And that's how you build fluency. Hey, thanks
for listening, and remember, learning another language is not easy,
but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you
on your journey.
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