In order to

Question

when we mostly use "in order to" ?

Ivanhr · Accepted Answer

"In order to" = "for the purpose of

Examples

I post questions in this forum in order to improve my English.

or

I post questions in this forum (in order) to improve my English. (you can leave out "in order" if you want to)

but

In order not to forget my English, I often post questions in this forum. (with negative infinitives "in order to" is required)

~~To not forget my English, I often post questions in this forum.~~

Anonymous · Answer

I HAVE CHECKED MY GRAMMAR BOOKS BEFORE POSTING

(1) As the contributing member has already told you, "in order"

is usually optional (you may use it or not use it) when you are

expressing a purpose (reason) for doing something.

(2) Some people feel that it is more formal:

I study English to get a better job.

I study English in order to get a better job.

(3) Occasionally, it is a good idea to use "in order"

so that there is no confusion. For example, look at this

sentence that I found in The Columbia [University] Guide

to Standard American English:

"We left our jobs to serve the war effort."

(a) Some people think that "to serve the war effort"

modifies (belongs to) "jobs." That is: Our jobs were to serve

the war effort. (We made guns for the soldiers.) We left those jobs.

(b) Most people people probably think that "to serve the

war effort" modifies "left." That is: We left our jobs (we were

teachers). Why did we leave our teaching jobs? We wanted

to serve the war effort. (We became soldiers.) If you add

"in order," then your listener/ reader will know that you want to express

the meaning in sentence (b):

We left our jobs in order to serve the war effort. (Tells why we

left our jobs.)

(4) Mr. Michael Swan in Practical English Usage says that it is

more "natural" to use in order with certain verbs like be, know, and

have: (I have changed Mr. Swan's examples a little)

I moved to a new apartment IN ORDER to BE near my work.

I read a newspaper IN ORDER to KNOW more about current events.

He gets up early IN ORDER to HAVE time for breakfast.

(5) I most respectfully suggest that you always add "in order"

whenever you wish to express a purpose (reason). When native

speakers hear you say the words "in order," they will immediately

realize (know) that you wish to express a purpose for doing something.

This will help you communicate better with native speakers.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Hi Anon,
Your example seems like a valid point. This is how I see it. One must understand, "in order to" is a fixed idiomatic expression. You either use it whole, or leave it out completely.

AnonymousI study English to get a better job. - People may get what you try to say, but the thought process isn't complete.
I study English in order to get a better job. This clearly demonstrated the reason and the result.

In any language, proper expressions used in the appropriate contexts add clarity and meaning to the points you try to make. So in my opinion, it's not so much a grammatical requirement here to say "in order to" as it is an idiomatic expression,. Metaphorically speaking, it's much like two men going to an interview, one is wearing a nice pin-stripe suit and a color coordinating tie with shiny shoes and the other one is wearing the same suit but without a tie and shiny shoes. I am not sure if this is a good metaphor, but the man with the coordinating tie and shiny shoes will most likely make a much defined impression.

BarbaraPA · Answer

I estimate that at least 90% of the "in order to" usage out there would be improved by dropping "in order" and just using "to."

You don't have to leave it out completely - just use "to" in most cases.

In order to

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