Hi I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident
English and welcome to your Confident
English Wednesday lesson. This week we
are focused on to me and for me those
really tricky prepositions. If you've
ever been confused or even frustrated
about which preposition to use, what do
they mean, which one is correct, then
today's lesson is for you.
After watching this video you will know
three situations in English when you can
actually use to or for in the sentence.
Both can be correct but it might require
a small change in the grammatical
structure, you might need to be careful
about which verb you choose, or there
could be a small change in the meaning.
Now before we get started, I did say that
we're focused on three situations when
both can be used correctly. So you might
be wondering: are there situations when
you can only use to or you can only use
for in English? And yes there are but my
goal is to make this topic as simple,
easy, and clear as possible so that you
can use these correctly when you
communicate in English. So today's lesson
is actually a two-part lesson and in a
few weeks I will have part two where we
will talk about when we only use to and
when we only use for. But today we're
going to look at when both are possible.
Situation number one: when these
prepositions are used to express a
reason or the intention of something.
What I mean is sometimes these
prepositions to & for tell us why. For
example, last year I went to Spain. Why? To
visit my
friend. For a wedding. When we use those
prepositions, it's telling us why the
reason or the intention. But there is a
difference in how we use these in a
sentence so I want to help you
understand that difference. Let's look at
these two sentences. Last year I went to
Spain for my friend's wedding. Last year
I went to Spain to attend my friend's
wedding. These are very similar sentences
but there is a little difference. Can you
identify what that difference is? If you
can't don't worry. Let's look at two more
examples to help you do that. After work
today I stopped by the grocery store for
some coffee. After work today I stopped
by the grocery store to buy some coffee.
Once again these are very similar. Can
you notice a difference? If we look at
all four of these sentences: I have for
my friend's wedding and for coffee or to
attend my friend's wedding or to buy
coffee. Hopefully you're starting to
notice that immediately after the word to
we need a verb. For example, last year I
went to Spain to visit my friend, to
attend a wedding, I went to the grocery
store to buy coffee. Now before we move
on to situation number 2, let's look at
one more example. And this time I want
you to decide which preposition is
correct. In a few months I'm going to
California ___ a work conference. In a few
months I'm going to California ___
a work conference. Should I use to or
for?
Hopefully you chose for
because the last words are a work
conference. We don't have a verb there so
we're going to use for. In a few months
I'm going to California for a work
conference.
Now situation number two: these
prepositions to & for can also be used in a
sentence to indicate a recipient. That
might be a new word - a recipient. A
recipient is someone who receives
something, they are a receiver. For
example, my sister sent a birthday card
to me. To me. I am the receiver or the
recipient and to is helping us
understand that. It's indicating who is
receiving something. So let's look at two
examples sentences again that are very
similar but let's see if you can
identify the difference. I made a gift
for my friend. I gave a gift to my friend.
What do you think about those two
sentences? Both to and for are indicating
the receiver but here the focus is
really on the verb that is used. In the
second sentence, I use the word gave or
to give. When I use that verb it
indicates movement or transfer, something
is exchanged or it goes from point A to
point B. When we use verbs that indicate
a movement exchange or transfer such as
to give, to take, to mail, to sell, to send,
we follow that verb with the preposition
to. I'll give you another example. Imagine
that you have a really important event
coming up soon maybe you're shopping for
a new dress and you find
perfect dress. You're so excited. But they
don't have the right size. So the store
says they will order it for you and
after the dress arrives they will send
it to you. Send is one of those verbs
that indicates movement, exchange
transfer, it's going from A to B so we
use to you. They will send it to you. And
finally it is important to me or it is
important for me - what is the difference
between these expressions? In the
sentence: "My job interview tomorrow is
really important for me,"
could I also use it is important to me?
What do you think? Both are correct. Both
can be used but there is just a small
difference in the meaning. When I say
that something is important to me or
it's important to my friend, to my sister
it focuses on the personal feeling or
value that something has. For example, I
can say this book is really important to
me because my grandmother gave it to me
as a gift. This book is really important
TO me because my grandmother gave it to
me as a gift. With that expression I'm
saying that this gift has value to me
maybe it's emotional value, sentimental
value but it's special to me and if you
were listening, if you paid attention I
also said my grandmother gave it TO me.
We're talking about a verb with
transport or movement. Now let's go back
to that first sentence about the job
interview. If I say, "My job interview
tomorrow is very important for me," the
focus is on the benefit. We show that
there's a
benefit to this thing or person. For
example, if you have this job interview
and it's important for you it could be
important for your career an opportunity
for growth it could be important for you
because it means a better salary or a
job that you really really want. We're
focused on the benefits another example
could be, "Exercise is very important for
your health." There are benefits for your
health. And with that you have three
situations where you can use to or for
in English and you know how to do it
correctly. As always I do love hearing
from you so if you've learned something
new, if you've enjoyed this video lesson
tell me about it. The best place to do
that is in the comments section just
below this video. And don't forget in a
couple of weeks I'll have part two of
this lesson available for you
where we will focus on situations where
only to or only for is possible but
not both. Thank you so much for joining
me, I love having you here every
Wednesday and I'll see you next week for
your Confident English Wednesday lesson.