for
part of speech
preposition; conjunction (old use: for he was tired)
meaning for a pupil
1) For shows who or what something is meant for: a present for Mum. tree →
2) For shows how long: for two hours. tree →
3) For gives a price: a pen for 3 pounds. tree →
4) For gives a reason or purpose: for fun, thanks for helping. tree →
5) For means in support of: Are you for or against? tree →
6) For can mean «as each of»: 3 sweets for every child. tree →
7) (casual) «For real?» or «fr» means «are you serious?» or «truly»; «for ages» means a very long time; «for sure» means certainly. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice uses «for» in stiff phrases: «for a period of», «for the purposes of», «for a consideration of» (for a price), «in exchange for». tree →
9) For can show who something applies to or suits: "It is the law for everybody." tree →
sense in the lessons
asking for something («ask for the difference»); a price («buys a pen for 3 pounds»); a length of time («5 pages a day for 4 days» = multiply); a share («2 each for 5 children» = 2 × 5); in everyday life «for example», «for sale», «for ever», «what for?», «for now»; in casual talk «for real», «fr», «for ages», «for sure»; in the exam voice «for a period of 4 days», «for the purposes of this question», «in exchange for»
examples
- «How many more … than» and «how many fewer … than» both ask for the difference: subtract. tree →
- Kim buys a pen for 3 pounds. tree →
- Ted reads 5 pages a day for 4 days. tree →
- This card is for you. tree →
- We waited for the bus for ten minutes. tree →
- Thank you for your help. tree →
- We play football for fun. tree →
- She ran for a goal. tree →
- Mum bought 2 ice creams for each of us. tree →
- waited for ages, bus never came fr tree →
- «I got 20 out of 20.» «For real?» tree →
- Ted peruses 5 pages per diem for a period of 4 days; compute the aggregate number of pages perused. tree →
note
No operation clue by itself. Trap: «N a day for M days» or «N per diem for a period of M days» hides equal groups: multiply. «for ages» is a long time, not a number. Do not mix «for» with «four» (4) and «fore»: they sound the same. «for» a price is what one costs; «for each of us» means multiply by how many there are.
In the corpora
- Being turned down is normal for everyone, and being picked is the reward for trying again and again.
- At the other end of working life comes retirement, when people stop paid work for good.
- Employers often glance at a CV for less than a minute, so grown-ups fuss over every word.
- A job interview is a meeting where an employer asks questions to decide whom to hire; several people usually compete for one job.
- A pay rise is an increase in pay; some come each year, others have to be asked for.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «for» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.