so that
- 1In order that, or with the aim that, something will happen.
She saved part of every paycheck so that her children could go to college.
The engineers widened the bridge so that trucks would no longer have to wait in line.
Note
A purpose clause usually carries a modal, would, could, can or may, because it looks ahead to something wanted rather than done. In Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood's The Bat (1926), a thief fences his loot so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face. Without a modal, the words usually report a result.
- 2Used to introduce a clause stating what happened as a result; with the result that.
The storm brought down the power lines, so that the whole town sat in darkness until morning.
Prices rose sharply that spring, so that many families stopped eating out.
Note
The pairing goes back to Old English swā þæt, and Dutch zodat and German sodass are built the same way. A result clause usually follows a comma and reports what actually happened: in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), the Tin Woodman chopped the wolf's head from its body, so that it immediately died.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English so that, so þat, from Old English swā þæt, equivalent to so + that. It is related to Saterland Frisian sodät, West Frisian sadat, Dutch zodat and German sodass.