“In Order To” vs “So As To” vs “To” in English

“IN ORDER TO” VS ” SO AS TO” VS ” TO”  




“in order to”, “so as to” and “to”, all of them, are used to express the purpose af an action. However, there are some basic differences in terms of their uses. 

You can see their uses and related examples below. ( Differences and similarities “in order to” , “so as to”  and “to”)



SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES

1. 

in order to, so as to and to, all of them, have same meaning when they are  expressing purpose.

Examples:

  • I will do my best in order to teach you English.
  • I will do my best so as to teach you English.
  • I will do my best to teach you English.

HOWEVER;

in order tois much more formal than to.  in order tohas the same degree of formality with so as to

2. 

When we want to make infinitive clause negative or negative infinitive, we use “not” before “to”.

( “in order not to, so as not to and ” not to” )

Examples:

  •    She worked hard in order not to fail at the class.
  •   We must burn more wood so as not to be cold.
  •    He changed his way not to see her.

HOWEVER;

When we make infinitive clauses negative, we generally use in order to. 

3. 

in order to, so as to and to, all of them, can be used at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

  • In order to play the game, we must have two computers.
  • So as to solve the problem, I must understand the question.
  • To get an outside line, you have to dial 9 first.

4. 

We generally usein order to or so as to before stative verbs.

Examples:

  • He works a lot in order to have a good job.
  • You must have a reason so as to like study English.

5. 

Gramatically, there is a main difference between using in order to and  to

in order to acts only as if it is a part of adjective  in a sentence.

HOWEVER;

  to” can act  as if it is a part of adjective or adverb  in a sentence. 

Examples:

  • You must have a reason in order to like study English.
  • She study hard to pass the lessons.

For using “in order to” to express purpose in english click here

For using “so as to” to express purpose in english click here

For using “to” to express purpose in English, click here

For “to” vs ” in order to” vs “so as to” click here

For using “so that” to express purpose in english click here

For using “in order that” to express purpose in english click here

For differences between “so that” and “in order that” to express purpose in english click here