When planning an elaborate practical joke (lo scherzo), you often need to explain your intentions or describe the hilarious outcome. To say "so that" in Italian, use in modo che or di modo che. The difference depends on whether you are expressing a purpose (what you wanted to happen) or a result (what actually happened).
Purpose: in modo che + Subjunctive
To express a purpose—doing something in order to achieve a specific goal—use in modo che followed by the subjunctive. Because you are often explaining how you engineered a prank in the past, use the past subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) for the intended outcome.
| I had concocted that prank so that my brother would take the bait. | Avevo architettato quello scherzo in modo che mio fratello abboccasse. |
| I hid the fake snake in the drawer so that Marco would get a fright. | Ho nascosto il serpente finto nel cassetto in modo che Marco prendesse uno spavento. |
| I had tied the string to the bucket so that the water would fall on that student. | Avevo legato il filo al secchio in modo che l'acqua cadesse su quello studente. |
Result: di modo che + Indicative
To state a factual consequence—what actually happened—use di modo che followed by the indicative. Since the result really occurred, you use standard indicative tenses to describe the outcome of your actions.
| We had concocted a funny prank, so that nobody noticed the mechanism. | Avevamo architettato uno scherzo spassoso, di modo che nessuno ha notato il meccanismo. |
| The fake spider was connected to the mechanism, so that it fell on the table. | Il ragno finto era collegato al meccanismo, di modo che è caduto sul tavolo. |
| We hid the mechanism, so that my cousin took the bait. | Abbiamo nascosto il meccanismo, di modo che mio cugino ha abboccato. |
