Meaning
Modifiers of Purpose and Result are adverbial: they modify verb strings.
- Modifiers of Purpose express the intended outcomes of the verb.
- Modifiers of Result express the actual outcomes of the verb.
Notice that these two overlap. Sometimes, the Purpose and the Result might be one and the same, meaning that the intended outcome might be the outcome that actually comes about. Other times, though, these two types of modifiers may play out differently. The intended outcome might not come to pass, and sometimes the result is an unforeseen consequence.
Even when we can express the same event either as a Purpose or as a Result (in a context where the hypothetical outcome and the real one are identical), there is a distinction between the two. A speaker should use Purpose to address why the subject took their action. On the other hand, a speaker should use Result if the subject’s intention is either irrelevant or at odds with the true outcome.
What sets modifiers of Purpose or Result apart from most other modifiers is that they are prospective (i.e. future-facing), meaning they point to circumstances that would occur after the events of the modified verb.
Forms
Infinitive Phrases
Full Infinitive Phrases usually express the intent — or purpose — of the subject as they take their action. These phrases have Full Infinitives as their nucleus, which typically means the Full Infinitive is the beginning of the phrase, though it’s possible to begin with an adverb. Aside from the infinitive itself, these phrases may also include modifiers (like adverbs or prepositional phrases) and/or complements (like direct objects).
For example:
- “I’m calling to ask about your return policy.”
- “Zadie brings up this difficult topic not to embarrass you, but to provide emotional support.”
- “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.”
The Infinitive Phrases above explains why the subject calls, brings up a difficult topic, or goes up a hill.
While Infinitive Phrases do not voice a subject, it is understood that the subject would be the same as the subject of the main verb of that clause. For the above examples: ‘I’ would ask; Zadie would both not embarrass and provide; and Jack and Jill would fetch. This can change when the main verb is a verb of influence and is followed by an indirect object. For instance, in the sentence “We asked our neighbor to turn the music down,” the subject of the Infinitive Phrase is ‘our neighbor’, which is also the indirect object of the main clause.
While Full Infinitive Phrases usually express Purpose, sometimes they can be used to express Result instead. They might even be used to emphasize the unintended nature of an outcome (perhaps in disappointment). In such instances, the phrases are typically preceded with the adverbs ‘only’, ‘just’, or ‘never’. For example:
- “Pedro stood in line for hours only to discover that the tickets were sold out!”
- “Then the roguish fellow left the building, never to be seen again.”
Expanded Infinitive Phrases
The expressions ‘in order to’ or ‘so as to’ can replace the simple ‘to’ of Full Infinitives when expressing Purpose. For example:
- “I’m calling in order to ask about your return policy.”
- “Jack and Jill went up the hill in order to fetch a pail of water.”
- “Jack and Jill went up the hill so as to fetch a pail of water.”
There is no semantic difference between these examples and their counterparts with more standard Infinitive Phrases shown earlier; they mean the same thing.
‘In order to’ cannot be used for Result, though. In fact, one reason that an English speaker might use ‘in order to’ is to stress that it expresses an intention, regardless of whether it’s also the Result.
Following Adjectives
The Infinitive Phrases examples shown above are all verb complements, and they could be considered as parts of Verb Patterns. But another way we can use Infinitive Phrase modifiers is after BE + adjective, as in: “be ready to jump”; “was prepared to run”; “are willing to work late”; etc.
Here are some of the adjectives that might precede Full Infinitives:
- READINESS: about, game, prepared, primed, qualified, quick, ready, trained, willing
- ANTICIPATION: dismayed, eager, excited, glad, happy, keen, sad, sorry
- TENDENCY: accustomed, averse, inclined, liable, likely, predisposed, prone, used, wont
Plenty of other Passive Adjectives can also be used in this way, in which case they would likely indicate some outside influence that has primed the subject.
Also, we can use get instead of BE to make it more dynamic.
Adverbial Clauses
Purpose and Result can also be expressed through Adverbial Clauses. These subordinating clauses begin with a subordinating conjunction that determines the particular function of that clause, then continue with a declarative expression of the prospective event or situation.
Unlike Infinitive Phrases, Adverbial Clauses allow us to set the subject of the Purpose or Result (in fact, the subject must be specified in the embedded clause), which means that it doesn’t have to be a noun that’s expressed in the main clause.
Clauses of Purpose
Clauses of Purpose begin with:
- in order that, so, or so that — expressing a desired circumstances
- in case — expressing an unfavorable circumstance to mitigate
- lest — expressing an unfavorable circumstance to avoid
For example, “Omar unlocked his front door so that his guests could let themselves in.” Here, guests letting themselves in is a possibility after Omar unlocks his door. Also, while the example sentence indicates that Omar is anticipating guests, it does not confirm whether any arrive, or whether guests who do arrive actually let themselves in.
Verb strings within Clauses of Purposes are often unreal since they express hypothetical scenarios (the fulfillment of which is not confirmed at the time of the main clause). This is usually expressed with distal modals like could or would.
Clauses of Purposes that come after the main verb do not require commas or other punctuation to separate them from their main clauses. Such punctuation should generally not be included unless it helps with pacing for longer sentences.
Clauses of Reason
Clauses of Reason are not prospective. However, they overlap with Clauses of Purposes in explaining why an action is taken. But while Purpose looks forward to an intended outcome, Reason looks backward to the source of the motivation.
Clauses of Reason begin with: as, because, for, given that, now that, or since (all of which are more-or-less interchangeable).
For example, “Because the light outside her bedroom prevented her from sleeping well, Whitney decided to purchase some blackout curtains.” Here, the light streaming through Whitney’s windows at night is a pre-existing condition by the time she decides to buy new curtains. While this addresses the ‘why’, it is the order of events that distinguishes Purpose from Reason.
Clauses of Result
Clauses of Result are more complex. While the subordinator for these clauses is an optional that, they require the preceding part of the host clause to be an expression of Extent. Such expressions include:
- [action verb] so [adverb]
- [linking verb] so [adjective]
- [linking verb] such a [noun]
- [verb] with such [noun]
- [verb] so few/many/much [plural noun]
In the following examples, expressions of Extent following the verb are bold, while the Result Clause is underlined:
- “Dennis ate his lunch so quickly, he got he hiccups.”
- “Julianna is such a skilled acrobat that the circus wanted to hire her!”
- “I’ve knitted so many blankets I could open an Etsy shop.”
Result Clauses can either be real or unreal. Choosing to link the clauses with a comma, that, or neither affects the rhythm of the sentence — which might simply reflect the speaker’s style, or which might aid or hinder understandability.
Conjunctive Adverbs
A sentence may begin with a Conjunctive Adverb to connect it with the sentence before it. Or, instead of two sentences, they may be two clauses or two sets of clauses separated by a semicolon. Conjunctive Adverbs should typically be followed by a comma. It’s possible to include ‘and’ before Conjunctive Adverbs.
Illiative Conjunctive Adverbs indicate a cause-and-effect relationship: the sentence that the conjunctive adverb initiates expresses the result of the clause(s) prior. Illiative conjunctives include:
as a result, • consequently, • ergo, • hence, • so, • therefore, • thus,
For example:
- “Mitchell lost all his money at the casino. Consequently, he didn’t have enough funds to buy a gift for his brother.”
- “Naomi was the first to cross the finish line; therefore, she is the winner!”
Related Concepts
Verb Patterns
Some Verb Patterns feature Full Infinitives, and those tend to indicate Purpose, or aimed-for actions or outcomes. For example, “began to play the piano”, “would like to write a novel”, and “encourages them to visit Spain” all communicate a Purpose (although, while some of these verbs actively pursue their intentions, others are more passive). Also, these are not restricted to the subject’s actions intended for themselves; they might also convey the expectations the subject has for others.
Future Tenses
Some Future Forms — especially those communicating plans — feature Full Infinitives. Consider the ‘to’ in be going to, be about to, be planning to, be meaning to, and be hoping to. When followed by a base verb, as in “been meaning to ask,” we get a Full Infinitive that introduces an intention. In fact the preceding term introduces the idea of intention: planning, meaning, hoping, etc.
These overlap with Verb Patterns. But for Future Tenses, the first part of the verb expression (‘is going’, for example) carries little semantic weight, instead primarily setting up the intention.
Volitional Modals
Modals of Volition express willingness or intent, as in “I can carry those books for you,” or “Alexi will arrive before the store opens.” These verb phrases jump right to the intended action. Contrast that with modifiers of Purpose or Result, which tie an action to a real or potential effect.
Infinitive Nouns
Full Infinitive Phrases are often modifiers, but they can also be nouns. As nouns, the most common placement is as predicative nominals (meaning they follow Linking Verbs), usually equating to a subject like ‘the point’, ‘the purpose’, etc. For example: “The whole point of the exam was to get into a decent university.”
Further Reading
Related Concepts
More Cause & Effect
Infinitives & Participles
Types
Bare Infinitives • Full Infinitives • Active Participles • Perfect/Passive Participles
Full Infinitive topics
Active Participle topics
Active Adjectives • Future Continuous • Gerunds • Participial Phrases • Past Continuous • Present Continuous • Present Perfect Continuous • Verb Patterns
Perfect Participle topics
Future Perfect • Perfect Modals • Participial Phrases • Past Perfect • Present Perfect • Present Perfect Continuous
