It is good of him to apologize.

Question

It is good of him to apologize.It is impossible for him to apologize.Do both of the above versions sound fine? If yes, could you come up with a good reason why the first uses of while the second takes for? Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

It is good of him to apologize.

It is impossible for him to apologize.

Do both of the above versions sound fine? If yes, could you come up with a good reason why the first uses of while the second takes for?

There are some subtle differnces here.

'Of' suggests the 'quality' comes from 'inside him'.

'For' suggests the opinion is coming from someone else. eg

It was amusing of him to fall off his chair. This suggests he did it on purpose

It was amusing for him to fall off his chair. This suggets more that he did it by accident..

Clive

Angliholic · Answer

CliveHi,

It is good of him to apologize.

It is impossible for him to apologize.

Do both of the above versions sound fine? If yes, could you come up with a good reason why the first uses of while the second takes for?

There are some subtle differnces here.

'Of' suggests the 'quality' comes from 'inside him'.

'For' suggests the opinion is coming from someone else eg

It was amusing of him to fall off his chair. This suggests he did it on purpose

It was amusing for him to fall off his chair. This suggets more that he did it by accident..

Clive

Marvellously put, Clive, and thanks.

I enjoy your samples very much.

Khoff · Answer

Also, you could say "It is good for him to apologize."     That could mean either (1) It is good, in general, that he apoligizes or (2) Apologizing is beneficial to him.

CalifJim · Answer

It is good of him to apologize.
It is impossible for him to apologize.

... could you come up with a good reason why the first uses of while the second takes for?

The paraphrases are completely different.

He shows how good he is by apologizing. He shows his goodness by apologizing. (He is good underlies the statement.)

But not: He shows how impossible he is by apologizing. He shows his impossibility by apologizing. (He is impossible does not underlie the statement.)

So when of is used, some characteristic of a person is used with it.

It [is / was] [good / mean ] of [him / her / them] to ....

The for clause is always implied (with the same object), but never explicitly stated:

It is good of him (for him) to apologize.

CJ

Linguaphile · Answer

What about 'to'?

A good diet is essential for/to everyone.

What is the difference?

CalifJim · Answer

Good question. I'm not sure there's a difference. It's just that we use to after some adjectives and for after others, and sometimes either preposition is possible. In your sentence essential to everyone seems to have the same meaning as essential for everyone (to my ear).

CJ

Hoa Thai · Answer

LinguaphileWhat about 'to'?

A good diet is essential for/to everyone.

What is the difference?

Hi,

Could the difference be interpreted as follows?

For: Everybody should benefit from a good diet.
To: In everyone's opinion, a good diet is essential. (i.e., it is essential, but might not be beneficial! (e.g., it is essential, but I rather eat poorly to save money for my daughter's education)).

Best,
Hoa Thai

It is good of him to apologize.

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