Have you ever wondered whether you should use to or for? If that’s the case, then this article is for you. From the most beginner’s concepts to more advanced explanations and examples. Remember you can also download it in PDF.
What you will find in this guide:
To become an effective communicator, your grammar doesn't have to be perfect. However, some mistakes can lead to misunderstandings. If you are not sure about when to use TO or FOR, follow these three basic rules:
We use TO when we indicate the destination, and usually there is movement involved. We often use verbs such as: go to, travel to, come to, head to, mail to, send to.
In the USA, it is quite common to tell the time by saying the hour + the minutes.
Examples:
However, especially in the UK, it is very common to express how many minutes there are left until you reach the next hour, once it is 30 minutes after o’clock.
Examples:
If you are using the following verbs, you will need the preposition to:
advise |
I advise you to start as soon as possible. |
agree |
Anna agreed to help me with the report. |
allow |
We are not allowed to disclose any information. |
appear |
The forecast appeared to be better for the next quarter. |
begin |
He began to give his presentation a bit later than expected. |
choose |
I chose to stay in the company. |
claim |
She claimed to know more than the rest of the team. |
continue |
She continued to talk. |
decide |
We decided to go ahead with the deal.. |
demand |
He demanded to speak to Ms. Liu. |
deserve |
He deserves to go to jail. |
expect |
We expect you to be transparent with us. |
fail |
He failed to get enough money to pay for the new project. |
happen |
She happened to be away during the negotiations.. |
hesitate |
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. |
hope |
I hope to live up to your expectations. |
intend |
We intend to visit your offices next month. |
invite |
They invited us to visit their new office. |
learn |
I learned to speak Japanese when I was a kid. |
manage |
We managed to raise enough money for the project. |
need |
We need to find a better solution. |
offer |
He offered to take on all the responsibilities. |
plan |
We plan to launch the product by the end of the year. |
pretend |
He’s just pretending to have many offers on the table. |
promise |
They promised to comply with all the new regulations. |
refuse |
They refused to adapt to our policies. |
seem |
It seems to be a tough market. |
swear |
She swore to tell the truth. |
teach |
She taught me to write better emails. |
tend |
He tends to speak too fast when he is nervous. |
threaten |
He threatened to leave the company. |
want |
We want to finish this section by tomorrow. |
wish |
I wish to stay. |
would like |
We would like to start now. |
would prefer |
I would prefer to do it on my own. |
to some extent |
Everyone will have to compromise to some extent |
to date |
I wrote to him two months ago, but I haven’t received any response to date. |
to excess |
They both spend to excess. |
to my surprise |
to the surprise of her colleagues, she resigned. |
to my credit |
to her credit, she had never betrayed them. |
to my face |
I can’t believe he lied to my face. |
to this day |
The tradition continues to this day. |
to the detriment of |
He puts all his time into his career, to the detriment of his personal life. |
to the satisfaction of |
We want to solve the problem to the satisfaction of all the employees. |
for good |
permanently |
for a living |
as a profession |
for sale |
intended to be sold |
for sure |
definitely |
for now/for the time being |
until some other arrangement is made |
for a while |
for a period of time |
for free |
with no charge |
for the record |
so that the true facts are recorded or known |
for the best |
considering all the circumstances, it is the best thing that could have happened |
for this reason |
therefore |
for all I care |
I do not care |
for all I know |
I do not know, but it is possible |
for chicken feed |
for almost no money |
We gave you some rules with lots of examples. However, there are some situations where the difference between to and for is not so clear. We’ll look at them and give some tips to make your life easier.
If you want to express a goal, and you are using a verb, then you should use TO + infinitive verb.
**Note: It is also possible to use FOR to express a goal. However, it doesn’t always work, so if you have doubts, always use TO + infinitive.
**Careful: Never use FOR + infinitive!
Should you say “I sent this letter to you” or “I sent this letter for you”? The answer is - both are possible, depending on what you mean.
So remember these two rules:
#1 If there is a transfer of something to someone → TO
#2 If the person will benefit from a service or a favor → FOR
Still not clear? Get in touch with us and one of our teachers will have a one-on-one session with you to explain the differences. Keep learning grammar with this article on prepositions of time.
Fill the blanks with TO or FOR and then check your answers here.
Hopefully, now you know the difference between these two prepositions, although having a teacher you can practice your grammar and speaking with is one of the most effective ways of learning a language. If you are interested in trying our online Business English training, you can do it for free. Get in touch!
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