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Velimir Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
"so that is ready by" vs. "so that it will be ready by"
Hello everyone,
Here I'd like to ask about the following sentence using "so that" (which is by the way a troublesome conjunction for me).The sentence is given in Swan's grammar and I don't understand why "will be" is used in clause after "so that" and not "is" instead :
"I'm putting it in the oven now so that it will be ready by seven o'clock."
Does the above sentence mean the same as :
"I'm putting it in the oven now so that it is ready by seven o'clock"
I've browsed google for this phrase and here are the number of hits for "so that it is ready by" and "so that it will be ready by", and some examples for each :
1. "so that it is ready by" - 40 results
"You can heat the oven before you start preparing the chicken so that it is ready by the time you are ready to grill the chicken to approximately 180-200 degree Fahrenheit"
"All summer work is due on Friday, August 22nd to the main office in the high school. This will give me a few days to grade your work so that it is ready by the first day of school."
"You have to open and decant this wine at 2 p.m. so that it is ready by 8 p.m., and then it continues to evolve in the glass over the next two hours--at least."
2."so that it will be ready by" - 45 results
"A good sized clubhouse is to be erected, and work will be hurried along so that it will be ready by Decoration Day."
"We've been working on getting it all put together so that it will be ready by the publish date."
"I need to try it on and get it fitted so that it will be ready by the time we come back down to Marblehead on the 21st"
I'm perplexed by the fact that those two are almost equally used in the obviously same situations. Is it about the american or british english usage ? I feel like "so that it is ready" better connects the cause in the first clause with the result in the second, but I'm not sure about it.
I also got 31 result for "so that it be ready" but without "by" used in similar situations but without time constraints with "by". I'm perplexed with this findings and also by the fact that the overall number of results is pretty small for the phrase - construction, which seems to be necessary in number of real life situations. Can it be that "in order to" or some other phrase is preferred in those situations like in above examples?
Thank you for your help
Here I'd like to ask about the following sentence using "so that" (which is by the way a troublesome conjunction for me).The sentence is given in Swan's grammar and I don't understand why "will be" is used in clause after "so that" and not "is" instead :
"I'm putting it in the oven now so that it will be ready by seven o'clock."
Does the above sentence mean the same as :
"I'm putting it in the oven now so that it is ready by seven o'clock"
I've browsed google for this phrase and here are the number of hits for "so that it is ready by" and "so that it will be ready by", and some examples for each :
1. "so that it is ready by" - 40 results
"You can heat the oven before you start preparing the chicken so that it is ready by the time you are ready to grill the chicken to approximately 180-200 degree Fahrenheit"
"All summer work is due on Friday, August 22nd to the main office in the high school. This will give me a few days to grade your work so that it is ready by the first day of school."
"You have to open and decant this wine at 2 p.m. so that it is ready by 8 p.m., and then it continues to evolve in the glass over the next two hours--at least."
2."so that it will be ready by" - 45 results
"A good sized clubhouse is to be erected, and work will be hurried along so that it will be ready by Decoration Day."
"We've been working on getting it all put together so that it will be ready by the publish date."
"I need to try it on and get it fitted so that it will be ready by the time we come back down to Marblehead on the 21st"
I'm perplexed by the fact that those two are almost equally used in the obviously same situations. Is it about the american or british english usage ? I feel like "so that it is ready" better connects the cause in the first clause with the result in the second, but I'm not sure about it.
I also got 31 result for "so that it be ready" but without "by" used in similar situations but without time constraints with "by". I'm perplexed with this findings and also by the fact that the overall number of results is pretty small for the phrase - construction, which seems to be necessary in number of real life situations. Can it be that "in order to" or some other phrase is preferred in those situations like in above examples?
Thank you for your help
Top answer
Either will work. Native speakers tend to use simple present for future in dependent clauses.
- Either will work.
- Native speakers tend to use simple present for future in dependent clauses.
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8 Answers
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Either will work. Native speakers tend to use simple present for future in dependent clauses.
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Either will work. Native speakers tend to use simple present for future in dependent clauses.
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Thank you for your answer Mr.Micawber.
Would you briefly comment on the usage of the third option "so that it be ready" I've found used without time constraints (i.e by the time). Is it the subjunctive mood and is this more formal option ?
Best regards
Would you briefly comment on the usage of the third option "so that it be ready" I've found used without time constraints (i.e by the time). Is it the subjunctive mood and is this more formal option ?
Best regards
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I think those sites that used "so that it be ready" were mistakenly trying to over-formalize by using the subjunctive in this clause, but it is uncalled for.
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I think those sites that used "so that it be ready" were mistakenly trying to over-formalize by using the subjunctive in this clause, but it is uncalled for.
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I think (THAT) the main problem on the answers (THAT) you get is that the problem is not the answers (THAT) you get, BUT THE QUESTION ITSELF.
'Cause in native English, although it is proper using the word "THAT" as shown above, IT IS NOT USUAL, OR IT IS NOT COMMONLY USED.
And the main reason for that, is that the word "THAT" is always interferring with the noun that is
'Cause in native English, although it is proper using the word "THAT" as shown above, IT IS NOT USUAL, OR IT IS NOT COMMONLY USED.
And the main reason for that, is that the word "THAT" is always interferring with the noun that is
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Verb_aTIM "I'm putting it in the oven now SO IT 'll be ready by seven o'clock".This is how I would be most likely to phrase it in speech.
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What you have found simply shows that the present and future tenses are in free variation in this context. There may be a slight tendency to use the future in cases where the emphasis is on very active preparations of some sort, and to use the present in cases that show more leisurely action toward a goal, but this is pure speculation on my part. You would have to research this hypothesis very
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