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Komountain Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
The fronting of 'so that...(purpose)'
Hello, everyone.
The other day I casually picked up a book my son had borrowed from his school library.
While reading it, I came across the 'So that S V, S V ...' pattern. "So that..." here, of course, presented the concept of 'purpose' that could be replaced with 'in order to.'
Let me make an example with the same structure as the sentence from the book.
ex)So that he could reach the station in time for the 10:00 train, Tom decided to run.
Grammatically, the fronting of 'So that...' is easily understood, as it is an adverbial clause entitled to enjoy the freedom of choosing its positions to a greater extent than others. But, frankly, this was the first time that I had seen the fronted 'so that...' -- the joy of discovery. Is it just that my reading experience is limited? I wonder if you have ever used this construction in reality, instead of 'S V ... so that S V ...'
The other day I casually picked up a book my son had borrowed from his school library.
While reading it, I came across the 'So that S V, S V ...' pattern. "So that..." here, of course, presented the concept of 'purpose' that could be replaced with 'in order to.'
Let me make an example with the same structure as the sentence from the book.
ex)So that he could reach the station in time for the 10:00 train, Tom decided to run.
Grammatically, the fronting of 'So that...' is easily understood, as it is an adverbial clause entitled to enjoy the freedom of choosing its positions to a greater extent than others. But, frankly, this was the first time that I had seen the fronted 'so that...' -- the joy of discovery. Is it just that my reading experience is limited? I wonder if you have ever used this construction in reality, instead of 'S V ... so that S V ...'
Top answer
Hello Prof KoMt My E-J dictionary says "so that"-clauses sometimes come before main clauses. I found online the sentence below. And so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people, we have opened a new relation with the Soviet Union.
- Hello Prof KoMt My E-J dictionary says "so that"-clauses sometimes come before main clauses.
- I found online the sentence below.
- And so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people, we have opened a new relation with the Soviet Union.
- paco
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2 Answers
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Hello Prof KoMt
My E-J dictionary says "so that"-clauses sometimes come before main clauses.
I found online the sentence below.
And so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people, we have opened a new relation with the Soviet Union.
paco
My E-J dictionary says "so that"-clauses sometimes come before main clauses.
I found online the sentence below.
And so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people, we have opened a new relation with the Soviet Union.
paco
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Thank you, paco.
Why haven't I seen this structure before?
That's probably because the fronting is for emphasis.
It's natural that an emphatic structure should occur rarely
so that it can have its due effect. If it does often, it no longer
creates the mood of emphasis.
Have a great day, paco.
p.s.: I wish I were a prof.
Why haven't I seen this structure before?
That's probably because the fronting is for emphasis.
It's natural that an emphatic structure should occur rarely
so that it can have its due effect. If it does often, it no longer
creates the mood of emphasis.
Have a great day, paco.
p.s.: I wish I were a prof.
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