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I didn't do it just so my land could be invaded.

How to understand the structure of this sentence? I check the dictionary, it says 'just so' can be used as a adverb idiom, meaning 'in a particular way'.

So which is the correct structure?

  1. the main clause is 'I didn't do it just so', the subordinate clause is 'my land could be invaded'.('just so' acts as adverb, 'that' acts as conjunction which is omitted)

  2. the main clause is 'I didn't do it', the subordinate clause is 'just so my land could be invaded'. ('just so' acts as conjunction)

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  • No: "just so" is neither an adverb nor a conjunction. . In modern grammar "so" is a preposition, and "just" is a focusing modifier that is modifying the whole PP "(just) so my land could be invaded". I've posted an answer which may help.
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:15
  • @BillJ There is no entry in my dictionary for "just" as a preposition. Neither is there for "so."
    – Biblasia
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:15
  • @Biblasia I didn't say that "just" is a preposition: I said it's a focusing modifier (i.e. an adverb). "So" is a prep in modern grammar, but most dictionaries are slow to catch up. For those who still treat "so" as a conjunction, then "so my land could be invaded" is a subordinate clause modified by the focusing adverb "just".
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:26
  • @BillJ As I see it.... The clause "my land could be invaded" is indeed a subordinate clause, mediated by the omitted that, which is implied. For example, in "you know I'm right," the "I'm right" is a dependent clause mediated by the omitted "that." In the OP's sentence, "just so" adds a causative sense to "that," nearly equivalent to "in order to," in meaning, but differing grammatically. One cannot properly say "... in order to my land could be invaded." That would demonstrate prepositional usage, whereas this is clearly conjunctive instead, using "that" in place of "to."
    – Biblasia
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:34
  • An alternant to "so" is "in order + subordinate clause, where "in order" is a complex preposition and the subordinator "that" is here obligatory in the subordinate clause. The focusing modifier "just" can be added in either case, where the meaning is "solely".
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:34

2 Answers 2

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I didn't do it [just so my land could be invaded].

"Just so" is not a constituent, not a grammatical unit, so it has no function as such.

The main clause here is the matrix clause, i.e. the whole sentence.

Traditional grammar treats "so" as a conjunction, but modern grammar classifies it as a preposition, therefore "so my land could be invaded" is a preposition phrase headed by "so" with the declarative content clause "my land could be invaded" as its complement.

The focusing adverb "just" modifies the PP which then serves as a purpose adjunct in clause structure.

The clause subordinator "that" is optional, though I would omit it.

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  • thank u very much for ur detailed explanation. it's the first time i hear about matrix clause and so as a preposition. so 'i' as subject, 'did' as verb, 'it' as object, 'just so that my land could be invaded' as a adverbial clause. is this correct?
    – Date1
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:44
  • @Date1 Matrix clause is the usual term for a clause that contain a subordinate clause. Don't fret too much about the status of "so". It's a prep in modern grammar, but most dictionaries are slow to catch up. For those who still treat "so" as a conjunction, then "just so my land could be invaded" is a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction "so", and modified by the focusing adverb "just". The term 'adjunct' is an alternative and better term for adverbial.
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:59
  • @Date1 It's important that you don't think of "just so" as a phrase. It isn't: "so" introduces the subordinate clause "so my land could be invaded",and the adverb "just" is a separate modifier that is modifying the whole clause. Is that clear? "Just" is a focusing modifier; here it means "solely".
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:08
  • thank u so much. i think i got it. if 'just so' acts as an idiom, is it commonly used in everyday life?
    – Date1
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:18
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    @Date1 No! Wrong meaning. The "just so" in your example is not an idiom as it is in "He's very fussy; he likes everything to be just so". In your example "just" and "so" are not directly connected, i.e. not a grammatical unit. "So" introduces the clause, and "just" modifies the whole clause where it means "solely" (or "only"). Is that clear now?
    – BillJ
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:52
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If you use "just so" in the context of "in a particular way," it would take a form like this:

  • He was a very meticulous person: everything had to be just so.

However, in the context of the example sentence provided in the question, this is not the usage.

I didn't do it just so my land could be invaded.

In this case, the "just so" is equivalent to "in order that." The speaker is saying that he or she did not take a particular action for the purpose of opening his or her land to be invaded. Some action was taken, something was done, but there was some other reason than opening the land to invasion that had prompted that action.

Note that the word "that" is optional in the sentence, and has been omitted. If supplied, it might make the grammar clearer.

I didn't do it just so that my land could be invaded.

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  • Using just is irony. Let's add that there was no reason that 'I did it' and wanted my land invaded. I most certainly did not do it with that in mind, but the opposite in mind. In the sentence "I didn't get married just so you'd cheat," the just so does not mean for that reason among others, but not solely for that reason.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:42
  • @YosefBaskin It may be dependent on the reader's own inference. Without tone of voice, neither of us can be sure, but I understood "just" in this sentence in the sense of "merely" or "simply"--i.e. as if that were the only reason. This implies there was some other motivation.
    – Biblasia
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:46
  • But who would have one or more reasons to want their land invaded, tone of voice or not?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:47
  • @YosefBaskin For example: Suppose the speaker had engineered the construction of railways to increase commerce within the country. Railroads are a major tool for would-be invaders--which is exactly why trains do not cross the border between France and Spain, because the railway tracks were deliberately made with different spacings, so trains from one side could not simply invade on the other side. Obviously, one would not build the tracks just so his or her country could be invaded.
    – Biblasia
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 12:50
  • thank u so much for explaining so throughly. i am a little curious about the sentence on the Merriam-Webster website 'They feel they have to dress just so to be popular.' here is the 'just so' a adverb phrase? or is it a bit too old-fashioned?
    – Date1
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:00

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