To vs For

[shrikantbhaiya]

Dear Instructor,

I am always confused between when to use To and When to use For in the sentence.

As I know To is used when the outcome in intentional and For is used when result is not intentional.

If there is anything more which I should know about it please explain.

You can use the following example.

Like F.A. Hayek, Sowell views the concern for social justice as nothing more than a pretext to enhance/for enhancing government power at the expense of individual freedom.

Thanks & Regards,
Shrikant

[shrikantbhaiya]

Dear Instructor,

Expecting reply.


Thanks & Regards,
Shrikant

[ChrisB]

Hi Shrikant,

Good question - I don't want you to look at this as a preposition question, which is what "to" vs. "for" is. Instead, think of this as infinitive vs. preposition phrase that is made up of a preposition + a gerund. In general the infinitive, or "to enhance" in your example, is used to show intent regarding another action in the sentence.

For example, "I answered your question to help you understand to vs. for." In this case, "to help..." provides the intent associated with "I answered" and answers why I helped you.

Rephrased to take out the intent, "I hope my answer helped with understanding this topic."

In addition to intent, the infinitive is used to show reasoning. Here's an example, "I am happy to help you understand this issue."

Finally, let's get to your example:

Like F.A. Hayek, Sowell views the concern for social justice as nothing more than a pretext to enhance/for enhancing government power at the expense of individual freedom.

Think about what information "to enhance" or "for enhancing" conveys. Specifically how does "to enhance" or "for enhancing" relate to the major action? First we must identify the major action, which is "views." Does "to enhance government power..." answer why "Sowell views the concern..." this way? No it doesn't, so we should use "pretext for enhancing."

I hope this helps and in the future question whether the object provides reason or intent. If it does, the infinitive is required. If not, the infinitive is not appropriate.

Thanks!
Chris

[tim]

That’s nice that you’re "expecting reply" [sic]. We get to these when we can, and you should note that when you reply to your own post it pushes your question to the back of the queue.. :)

As for your question, a to/for split often indicates an idiom. As such, there is no general rule for determining which to use. You’ll want to make a point to memorize the idioms that are not obvious to you..