decide not to / so as not to
decide not to / so as not to means “Negative infinitive: put not before to (decided not to go; so as not to)”. To make an infinitive negative, put not directly before to: I decided not to go (not 'to not go'). Formation: not + to + verb · so as (not) to + verb
Negative infinitive: put not before to (decided not to go; so as not to)
B1Formation
not + to + verb · so as (not) to + verb
Explanation
To make an infinitive negative, put not directly before to: I decided not to go (not 'to not go'). Verbs such as decide, promise, choose, hope, agree and pretend often take a to-infinitive that can be made negative this way. so as (not) to + verb expresses purpose in a slightly formal way: I left early so as not to miss the train = in order not to miss it.
Examples
Note
Position matters: not to go is standard; to not go is heard in speech but best avoided in writing. so as to and in order to are more formal than a plain to-infinitive of purpose.
FAQ
decide not to / so as not to — what does it mean and how is it used?
Negative infinitive: put not before to (decided not to go; so as not to). To make an infinitive negative, put not directly before to: I decided not to go (not 'to not go'). Verbs such as decide, promise, choose, hope, agree and pretend often take a to-infinitive that can be made negative this way. so as (not) to + verb expresses purpose in a slightly formal way: I left early so as not to miss the train = in order not to miss it.
decide not to / so as not to — how do you form it?
not + to + verb · so as (not) to + verb
decide not to / so as not to — any usage notes?
Position matters: not to go is standard; to not go is heard in speech but best avoided in writing. so as to and in order to are more formal than a plain to-infinitive of purpose.