C7. The stockboker's chickens

Infinitive of purpose: in order to, so that

 
Edward Harcourt was a forty year old stockbroker who lived in London. He was very successful in his job and had made a lot of money, but he was feeling very tired of the stresses of the job and the hectic pace of city life.
    ‘I feel I’m living to work, instead of working to live,’ he complained to a friend of his. ‘I’m thinking of relocating so that I can improve my life style,’ he went on. ‘Lots of people are choosing quality of life above high salary and status. I want a completely different way of life!’
     After some thought, Edward decided to move to the country in order to keep chickens. He bought a chicken farm and moved in. His new neighbour, Bill came round to introduce himself and to offer help and advice.
     ‘I know quite a lot about chickens, so if you need any help at all, just ask me. Tell, you what, to help you start your farm, I’ll give you a hundred chickens.’
     Edward was delighted and thanked his neighbour.
 
A few weeks later, Bill dropped by because he wanted to see how Edward was getting on. ‘Things aren’t going too well, I’m afraid. All the chickens you gave me died.’ said Edward miserably.
    ‘Oh no,’ sympathized Bill. ‘ Well, don’t be too depressed about it. I’ll give you another hundred chickens, so you can start again,’
    After another week, Bill looked in on Edward again.
    ‘So how are you getting on now?’ he asked. ‘I hope the new chickens are doing well?’
    ‘I’m embarrassed to tell you,’ said Edward unhappily, ‘but the second lot of chickens are all dead, too.’
    ‘But that’s terrible! I wonder what the problem could be?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ replied Edward. ‘I’m not sure whether I’m planting them too close together or too deep down.’

Grammar: infinitive of purpose: in order to, so that

> There are several ways to explain the reasons why someone does an action.

Choose the correct phrase to complete these sentences.

1.    You need to give more examples so that / in order to explain your ideas more clearly.
2.    I'm going to go to bed early tonight so that / in order to I feel fresh before tomorrow's meeting.
3.    Please be quiet after ten o'clock, so that / in order to you don't disturb other guests.
4.    We set off early so that / in order to we would get to the station in plenty of time.
5.    Emma bought a book so that / in order to teach herself how to speak Spanish.
6.   I ordered the books early so that / in order to they would be ready before the next lesson.
7.   I'll email you the photos so that / in order to you can look through and choose the one you like.
8.   The directors held a meeting so that / in order to discuss the new developments.
 

Vocabulary exercises

Choose a verb to complete the sentences.

1.   I hope you _______ a lot of money with your new project.
2.   It's very kind of you to _______ help.
3.   If you are in the area why not _______ by and have a cup of coffee with me?
4.   I'm going to _______ in on Cathy to see how she's getting on in her new apartment.
5.   I'm embarrassed to _______ you but I still haven't finished that book you lent me.

Choose an expression to give the opposite meaning of the phrases in bold.