by Laura Jones
Updated on January 3, 2024
What’s the difference between to and for?
Do you know the difference between “to” and “for”? These two tiny prepositions are incredibly useful for a variety of situations in English. In this article, we’ll teach you when to use “to” and “for” correctly. We’ll review some distinct ways to use “to” and “for”, and then we’ll go over some examples that often confuse learners of English. So, without further ado, here’s the difference between “for” and “to” in English.
This list below is not exhaustive. in fact, if we mentioned all the different ways you can use “to”, we’d need to turn this article into a book. But these five examples should be a good primer.
Say hi to Andy from me.
Happy birthday to you!
We’re going to New York today.
This bus is going to the depot.
We prefer the mountains to the beach.
It’s five to seven.
A house in this area costs $200,000 to $250,000 on average.
Do you know the answer to the question?
I’m looking forward to seeing you.
Please be kind to the children.
Here are three ways we use “for”. Again, there are more ways to use this preposition, but these are the most important ones to remember.
I have lived here for ten years.
I made you an appointment for Monday.
Yoga is good for the mind and the body.
I am for free university education in most cases.
Now we’re going to look at “to” and “for” together and see how they’re used in expressions that learners often find confusing.
We can use both “to” and “for” to talk about the reason or motive for doing something. The difference lies in the grammar. Take a look at the sentences below.
The structure is for + noun and to + verb. Here’s another example:
“For” can be used with a gerund to express the purpose of an object.
Many learners get confused about whether to use “to” vs. “for” when they talk about giving and buying gifts for people. The first thing is to forget what we just said about reason and purpose – in this case, “to” is used with a noun. Use “to” when you talk about giving someone something directly.
This is when the indirect object, “my mum” comes after the direct object, “those tickets”. If you change the order of the objects, you don’t need “to”.
Use “for” to talk about the reason for buying a gift. You can also use “for” with the verb “to buy” to talk about the recipient of a gift.
Another common error that students make is when using the structures “important to” and “important for”. Both can be correct, but the meaning of the two phrases is different. Take a look at these examples.
If something is important to you, it is personally important and holds some significance to you personally. If something is important for you, it has a benefit for you. Here is another example:
Spending time with my grandparents is really important to me, but focusing on work is important for my career.
Hopefully, we’ve managed to clear up some doubts about using “to” and “for” in English. Try to remember the grammatical differences when talking about your reason for doing something – I’m learning English for work vs. I’m learning English to use at work. You also need to remember the different ways of talking about giving and receiving and whether something is important to you or for you. (Saying your childhood teddy bear is important for you might get you some funny looks – what does it do for you?!) Remembering all of this will be good for your English!
