'In order to' and 'so that', 'because of' and 'thanks to'. Four patterns that look alike and that choose between deliberate action and natural outcome, good and bad results.
About 5 minutes to read
Some patterns say why you do something, and some say why something happened. This lesson separates purpose from cause.
ために: for the purpose of
Dictionary form + ために or Noun + の + ために = "in order to / for the sake of".
日本語Japaneseを勉強するstudyためにin order to日本Japanに来たcame
I came to Japan in order to study Japanese.
家族familyのためにfor the sake of働くwork
I work for my family.
Rules for the purpose use of ために:
The same person does both parts (I study; I came).
The first verb is a deliberate action you can choose to do.
ように: so that (a state)
ように shows a purpose that is a state or result, not a deliberate act. It's used with potential verbs, negatives, and things that happen on their own.
忘れないforget notようにso thatメモnoteを取るtake
I take notes so that I won't forget.
よくwell見えるcan seeようにso that前frontに座ったsat
I sat in front so I could see well.
風邪coldを引かないcatch notようにso that気をつけてbe carefulください
Be careful not to catch a cold.
ために vs ように — ask: is the first part something you choose to do?
ために
ように
勉強するために来た
✓ you choose to study
分かるように説明する
✓ understanding is a result
風邪を引かないように
✓ negative: not an act
日本語が話せるように
✓ potential: a state
のに: the tool for the job
Dictionary form + のに (with no contrast) says what something is used for.
このナイフはパンbreadを切るcutのにfor使うuse
I use this knife for cutting bread.
東京Tokyoに行くgoのに(for the purpose)三時間three hoursかかるtake
It takes three hours to get to Tokyo.
This のに is not the "although" のに from before. Context settles it: after a verb of using or taking time, it's a purpose.
せいで and おかげで: cause with a judgement
Both mean "because of", but one blames and the other thanks.
Before a noun you add の; before a verb or adjective, use the plain form (nouns and な-adjectives take な or の).
による and によって: caused by
In writing, によって / による marks cause, means and the agent in a passive:
事故accidentによってdue to電車trainが遅れたwas delayed
The train was delayed because of an accident.
事故accidentによるdue to遅れdelay
a delay caused by an accident
ばかりに: because of just that
ばかりに is a strong "all because of" — usually regretful:
一言one word言ったsaidばかりにjust because嫌われたwas disliked
I was disliked just because of one remark.
Longer sentences
Purpose and cause often appear together in one explanation.
新しいnew仕事にjob早くearly慣れるためにin order to get used毎日every day帰ってからafter coming home復習をしていますがI'm reviewing, but忘れないようにso as not to forgetノートにもin a notebook too書いていますI'm writing
In order to get used to my new job quickly, I review every day after I get home, and I also write things down in a notebook so I won't forget.
台風のtyphoon'sせいでbecause of飛行機がflights全部all欠航になりcancelled and予定していたplanned旅行はtrip中止せざるを得なかったがhad no choice but to cancel, butホテルのhotel'sおかげでthanks to無料でfreeキャンセルできたcould cancel
Because of the typhoon all flights were cancelled and we had no choice but to call off the trip we'd planned, but thanks to the hotel we could cancel for free.
A study plan
来年のnext year's試験にexam合格するためにin order to pass私はI朝とmorning and夜のnight's二回にtwice分けてdividing勉強することにしたdecided to study
朝はin the morning頭がheadすっきりしているのでsince it's clear新しいnew内容をcontent覚えるmemoriseのにfor使いuse and夜はat night忘れないようにso as not to forget復習にreview当てるdevote
In order to pass next year's exam, I decided to study in two sessions, morning and night.
In the morning my head is clear, so I use that time for memorising new material, and in the evening I devote the time to review so I won't forget.
Key points
ために: deliberate purpose. ように: purpose that is a state or outcome.
のに after a verb of using or taking time: "for (doing)".
せいで: bad cause. おかげで: good cause.
によって / による: formal cause or agent.
Drill these patterns
Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: