Can you give a ride for/to me?

Question

1. Can you give me a ride?2. Can you give a ride to me?3. Can you give a ride for me?I know sentence 1 is the proper way to ask for a ride. I wonder which one is grammatical between 2 and 3.

EverydayEnglish · Accepted Answer

Michelle ChaI wonder which one is grammatical between 2 and 3.

Well, it depends on what is considered 'grammarical'. Sometimes, what looks structurally valid on paper may sound aweful in real life. To me, neither 2 nor 3 are something a fluent speaker would say, at least not in north America in my opinion.

GPY · Answer

(2) would mean the same as (1) but in practice is rarely if ever used.

(3) seems unusual. I suppose it would mean "Can you give (someone else) a ride on my behalf / for my benefit?"

CalifJim · Answer

Michelle Cha 1. Can you give me a ride?2. Can you give a ride to me?3. Can you give a ride for me?I know sentence 1 is the proper way to ask for a ride. I wonder which one is grammatical between 2 and 3.

I'd say that "give (someone) a ride" is a fixed idiom. There is no other way to say it.*

You can use "for" if you add it to the idiom thus:

Can you give Karen a ride for me? ~ Will you do me the favor of giving Karen a ride?

CJ

*However, the form with "to" is used when "(someone)" is expressed in a long phrase:

The man agreed to give a ride to [a man and woman from Salt Lake City].
On the way to town I gave a ride to [some of my neighbors whose car had broken down].
Making it a crime to give a ride to [an unauthorized immigrant] may seem strange and excessive.

You would not say, for example,

I gave some of my neighbors whose car had broken down a ride.

CJ

EverydayEnglish · Answer

CJ, You are *** in English!

Can you give a ride for/to me?

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