A clause can also tell why something was done: "he came to see the god", "he gave me bread so that I might live". Egyptian has two common ways to say this.
Key idea
Purpose is shown with r + infinitive, "in order to": jj.n=j r mꜣꜣ nfrw=k "I have come to see your beauty"; or with a sḏm=f right after another verb, "so that": rdj.n=f n=j t ꜥnḫ=j "he gave me bread so that I might live".
Why it works
r means "to, toward". Toward a place it means motion; toward an action, the infinitive, it means aim: "toward seeing" is "in order to see". The second way uses a sḏm=f of the kind that expresses wishes and what should happen (What the sḏm=f Means). Placed after a main clause, "he gave me bread, (that) I might live", it gives the intended result.
| Egyptian | How | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| jj.n=j r mꜣꜣ nfrw=k | r + infinitive | I have come to see your beauty |
| jj.n=f r ḏd n=j | r + infinitive | he came to tell me |
| šm.n=f r gmt zꜣ=f | r + infinitive | he went to find his son |
| jj.n=j r rdjt n=k t | r + infinitive | I have come to give you bread |
| rdj.n=f n=j t ꜥnḫ=j | sḏm=f after a verb | he gave me bread so that I might live |
| r tm sḏm | r + tm | so as not to hear |
Worked example: r + infinitive
Translate šm.n=f r gmt zꜣ=f.
- šm.n=f "he went".
- r gmt "in order to find" (gmt is the infinitive of gmj).
- zꜣ=f "his son" is the object of finding.
Answer: "He went to find his son."
Worked example: sḏm=f of purpose
Translate rdj.n=f n=j t ꜥnḫ=j.
- Main clause: "he gave me bread".
- ꜥnḫ=j "I live" follows directly: a sḏm=f of purpose or result.
Answer: "He gave me bread so that I might live."
Purpose clauses with a sḏm=f look like circumstantial clauses (Circumstantial Clauses); the difference is in the sense. A circumstance describes what is already so; a purpose looks ahead to what the action is meant to bring about. Ask whether the second clause is the goal of the first.
Common mistake
Reading r + infinitive as a direction, "toward". "I came toward your beauty, seeing" keeps the words but loses the meaning. Check: if r is followed by an infinitive after a verb of motion or action, translate "in order to" or "to".