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Christanford Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Grant sth
Hi,
The president granted a general amnesty for all political prisoners.
Why isn't 'to' used instead of 'for'?
Thanks in advance
The president granted a general amnesty for all political prisoners.
Why isn't 'to' used instead of 'for'?
Thanks in advance
Top answer
Both "to" and "for" are possible here. "to" feels more direct, as if the amnesty was addressed directly to the prisoners (though this needn't literally be the case). "for" feels more indirect, as if the amnesty will actually be implemented by someone else.
- Both "to" and "for" are possible here.
- "to" feels more direct, as if the amnesty was addressed directly to the prisoners (though this needn't literally be the case).
- "for" feels more indirect, as if the amnesty will actually be implemented by someone else.
- In practice, the distinction is a fine one that often hardly matters, so "to" and "for" may be used interchangeably.
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2 Answers
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Both "to" and "for" are possible here.
"to" feels more direct, as if the amnesty was addressed directly to the prisoners (though this needn't literally be the case). "for" feels more indirect, as if the amnesty will actually be implemented by someone else.
In practice, the distinction is a fine one that often hardly matters, so "to" and "for" may be used interchangeably.
"to" feels more direct, as if the amnesty was addressed directly to the prisoners (though this needn't literally be the case). "for" feels more indirect, as if the amnesty will actually be implemented by someone else.
In practice, the distinction is a fine one that often hardly matters, so "to" and "for" may be used interchangeably.
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