Resources
In Order To
Point of Order
By Evan Jenkins. May / June 2007.
An e-mail questioner wondered why people kept saying "in order to" when "to" was all they needed, and it's a fair question. None of these needed the extra words:
"In order to demonstrate this struggle..."
"Incorporate the business in order to take advantage...."
"...what others need to do in order to get there."
But what about this one?
"...to preserve our present in order to build a better future."
At a minimum, that would be unpleasing—choppy, unrhythmic—without "in order," and it might even be confusing.
"In order" can usually be omitted, or deleted in editing, but any hard-and-fast rule is dangerous. Once in a while the phrase is needed to avoid (not, in this case, "in order to avoid") misunderstanding.
CJR
