ISE I (B1): Infinitive of purpose

In English to state a purpose we use an infinitive introduced by the preposition to. This is what we called “infinitive of purpose”.

The structure of the sentences containing an infinitive of purpose is really simple: 

Subject+ verb+ infinitive with to. 

Below, you can see some examples to illustrate it and the different meanings of this structure.

To help you understand it better, here you have the meanings of the structure, which is used a lot.

1. Purpose or objective of doing something, that is to say, reason why we do a specific thing. Example: I go to the gym to get fit.  
2. To justify something, to give the reason why someone has, wants, or needs. Example: I need a can opener to open this. 
3. As a synonym of the expression “in order to”, meaning in Spanish “para, a fin de que”. Example: We shouted in order to get help.

BE CAREFUL! We never state a purpose using the preposition for.

Examples: NOT We went to New York for see the Statue of Liberty BUT We went to New York to see the Statue of Liberty