False purpose
Encyclopedia
False purpose is a grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 construct that inaccurately applies intent to an action. The construct nearly always arises because of the incorrect use of the preposition "to" in front of a verb describing an action in the past. False purpose is considered an error by many grammarians, though it is commonly found in American sportswriting. An example from baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

:

"Adam doubled twice to knock in four runs for Saratoga."

The use of false purpose is regarded as an error in this example because it incorrectly suggests that Varteressian's intent in hitting two doubles was to drive in precisely four runs, when in fact his four runs-batted-in are simply a cumulative effect of his general efforts to accumulate hits and runs for his team. The error is easily corrected: "Adam doubled twice and knocked in four runs for Saratoga."

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