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TheFisher Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
about the phrase "in order to"...is it necessary?
Would there be any sort of confusion or loss of meaning if I just take out "in order?"
For example:
Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
For example:
Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Top answer
" For example: Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle. Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle. No, perhaps just a slightly reduced emphasis.
- " For example: Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
- Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
- No, perhaps just a slightly reduced emphasis.
- However, consider the negative form.
- Robert pretended to be happy in order not to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
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4 Answers
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Hi,
Would there be any sort of confusion or loss of meaning if I just take out "in order?"
For example:
Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Would there be any sort of confusion or loss of meaning if I just take out "in order?"
For example:
Robert pretended to be sad in order to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
Robert pretended to be sad to gain sympathy from Ratignolle.
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Hi,
According to John A. Brogan, the author of Clear Technical Writing, "in order is almost always deadwood at the beginning of a sentence. Elsewhere, it usually is - but not always. In the following sentence, for example, in order prevents an ambiguous reading:
This value was made a variable in order to
According to John A. Brogan, the author of Clear Technical Writing, "in order is almost always deadwood at the beginning of a sentence. Elsewhere, it usually is - but not always. In the following sentence, for example, in order prevents an ambiguous reading:
This value was made a variable in order to
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Wow, the balance between clarity and brevity must be hard to find at times.
Thanks so much for the advice!
Thanks so much for the advice!
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As an editor, I routinely edit "...in order to..." to "...to..." without affecting the sentence meaning. I consider this an ingrained phrase by writers that goes against the philosophy of eliminating fillers and unnecessary words/phrases. Let's write concisely.
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