Purpose Clauses: pour que vs. pour + infinitif
Purpose Clauses: pour que vs. pour + infinitif
Purpose clauses split by the same same-subject test you met with vouloir in the subjonctif lesson: one person's purpose uses a plain infinitive, two different people's purposes force a full subjonctif clause — a stricter rule than English's own, more flexible 'so that'.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Same subject vs. different subject decides the tool — and French is stricter about it than English
Je parle fort pour être entendu. (I speak loudly to be heard — same subject) vs. Je parle fort pour que tu m'entendes. (I speak loudly so that YOU hear me — different subject)
I speak loudly to be heard. / I speak loudly so that you hear me.
Just like the je veux que vs. je veux + infinitif choice from Lesson 40, pour + infinitive is only grammatical when the purpose and the main clause share the same subject; the moment a second person is involved, pour que takes over and opens its own subjonctif clause with its own subject (que tu m'entendes). English 'so that' doesn't enforce this split nearly as strictly — English happily allows 'so that' even when the subject is the same ('I study hard so that I can pass'), leaning on a modal verb (can/will/would) instead of any mood change. That flexibility is exactly the trap: English speakers instinctively want to say pour que je... with a matching subject out of habit from 'so that I can...', where French requires the plain infinitive instead.
afin que / afin de: the same split, more formal
afin que + subjonctif (different subject) / afin de + infinitif (same subject)
so that (different subject, formal) / in order to (same subject, formal)
afin que and afin de work exactly like pour que and pour + infinitif, just pitched at a more formal, written register — common in essays and official writing, comparable to English's own formal 'in order to' (same subject) and the rarer, very formal 'in order that' (different subject, sometimes still paired with 'should' or an archaic subjunctive-like verb: 'in order that he not be late'). Pick pour in everyday speech and afin in formal writing; the same subject/different-subject test decides que vs. de either way.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| pour + infinitif | poor | in order to (same subject) |
| pour que + subjonctif | poor kuh | so that (different subject) |
| afin de | ah-fan duh | in order to (formal, same subject) |
| afin que | ah-fan kuh | so that (formal, different subject) |
| Je téléphone pour confirmer. | zhuh tay-lay-fon poor kohn-feer-MAY | I'm calling to confirm. |
| Je téléphone pour que tu confirmes. | zhuh tay-lay-fon poor kuh too kohn-FEERM | I'm calling so that you confirm. |