[Grammar] Adverbial clause of purpose

[Augustine06]

Dear All,

Could you please clarify to me if the following sentence is grammatical or not? I personally think that it's wrong and my opponent (who actually wrote this sentence) insists that it's absolutely correct.
Here it is: "Physical exercises are widespread among people in order to be strong, healthy and in good shape".

As I see it: an adverbial clause of purpose always tells us about the purpose of the verb, right? And in this sentence the verb is "are widespread" and the subject is "physical exercises". Doesn't it mean then that what actually this sentence says is: "physical exercises are widespread in order to be strong..."?

Thanks a lot in advance
​

 

[SpeakEasy365]

Dear All,

Could you please clarify to me if the following sentence is grammatical or not? I personally think that it's wrong and my opponent (who actually wrote this sentence) insists that it's absolutely correct.
Here it is: "Physical exercises are widespread among people in order to be strong, healthy and in good shape".

As I see it: an adverbial clause of purpose always tells us about the purpose of the verb, right? And in this sentence the verb is "are widespread" and the subject is "physical exercises". Doesn't it mean then that what actually this sentence says is: "physical exercises are widespread in order to be strong..."?

Thanks a lot in advance
​

In my opinion this sentence is totally ungrammatical and doesn't make much sense. It sounds like it could be a literal translation from another language into English perhaps?

"Physical exercises are widespread among people in order to be strong, healthy and in good shape". I would phrase this as: "It's common place for people who exercise regularly, to be strong, healthy and in good shape." OR, if you still want to use the adverb clause of purpose (in order to), you could say, "In order to be strong, healthy and in good shape, it's necessary to exercise regularly."

 

[Augustine06]

In my opinion this sentence is totally ungrammatical and doesn't make much sense. It sounds like it could be a literal translation from another language into English perhaps?

"Physical exercises are widespread among people in order to be strong, healthy and in good shape". I would phrase this as: "It's common place for people who exercise regularly, to be strong, healthy and in good shape." OR, if you still want to use the adverb clause of purpose (in order to), you could say, "In order to be strong, healthy and in good shape, it's necessary to exercise regularly."

Thank you, SpeakEasy365
You are absolutely right, it is, actually, a translation from Russian. And what the person who asked for a translation wanted to express was: A lot of people do sport (in order) to be strong, healthy and in good shape. And there was no passive voice in the original sentence.

 

[Matthew Wai]

It is common for people to exercise regularly in order to be strong, healthy and in good shape.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


"Many people exercise so that they can be stronger, healthier, and in better shape."

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the 'so that' clause above is an adverbial clause of purpose.

 

[Peedeebee]

Augustine06- I believe you are right; the writer meant in order for the people to be strong. They actually implied .. in order for the exercises to be strong.
It is very common in speech for this to happen in many sentences. You will hear it many times in news reports, for example.
Usually we understand the intended meaning and don't worry too much.
If you are writing for studies or exams then you are right to watch out for it and use the structures correctly.

 

[Augustine06]

Thank you Peedeebee Well, I must say I've heard something like that in everyday speech only a few times maybe. Not in the news though (or probably I just didn't pay much attention You see, that was a request for a translation on a public resource where people come when they need help with translating something into English (and other languages). I just think that as we don't know where they are going to use the translation (maybe in their school homework, right?) we have to translate it properly. Or if we provide a translation that is not quite grammatical but still can be heard in common speech, at least we have to make it clear.

 

[Rover_KE]

Thank you Peedeebee. [STRIKE][/STRIKE] Well, I must say I've heard something like that in everyday speech only a few times maybe. Not in the news though (or probably I just didn't pay much attention. [STRIKE][/STRIKE]

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