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.