Oi pessoal!
Mais um post sobre uma dúvida bem frequente da maioria dos estudantes de inglês, afinal quando usar TO ou FOR?
Pensando nessa pergunta, pesquisei uma regrinha fácil pra ninguém confundir mais…
Segue a explicação e em caso de dúvida estou à disposição!
Espero que vocês gostem!
TO – de modo geral refere-se à idéia de movimento, direção correspondendo muita vezes à preposição “a” em português.
Exemplo: I go to the beach on my vacation. (Eu vou à praia nas férias)
FOR – está ligado à idéia de substituição ou intenção, correspondendo ao português “por”.
Exemplo: I will mail the letter for you. (Eu coloco a carta no correio por você)
Em 90% dos casos a preposição a ser usada depende do verbo, não existindo uma regra para isso.
Lembre-se: os verbos podem estar no presente, passado ou futuro.
| Verbos com TO | Verbos com FOR |
| I gave a present to my daughter = I gave her a present | I’ll buy a present for my wife = I’ll buy my wife a present. |
| I will show my videos to you = I will show you my videos | I brought a cake for you = I brought you a cake |
| I sold my computer to her = I sold her my computer | She made a good coffee for me = She made me a good coffee |
| We sent a letter to Peter= We sent Peter a letter | Would you do a favor for me? = Would you do me a favor? |
| Can you lend your pen to me?= Can you lend me your pen? | I can’t find a job for you = I can’t find you a job |
| He likes to tell jokes to us = He likes to tell us jokes. | She has left this for you = She has left you this. |
| I paid U$50,00 to the dentist = I paid the dentist U$50,00 | I will translate these pages for him = I will translate him these pages |
| I’ll write a letter to my mom = I’ll write my mom a letter | Did she cook lunch for him? = Did she cook him lunch? |
| Give that glass to me, please = Give me that glass, please. | He sold his car to his neighbor = He sold his neighbor his car |
| She’ll tell something to me = She’ll tell me something | Please, book a hotel room for me = Please, book me a hotel room |
| I thank you for the new CD = I thank you the new CD | Take these papers for him = Take him these papers. |
Outra regrinha refere-se ao uso de TO com verbos no infinitivo e FOR com verbos no gerúndio ou quando acompanhados de substantivos.
Por exemplo:
I use my computer to study. (to + infinitive)
I use my computer for studying. (for + gerund)
I’m going to Spain for the holidays. (for + noun)
Existem verbos que só aceitam o complemento (objeto indireto) acompanhado de preposição. Veja alguns exemplos:
| Verbos com TO | Verbos com FOR |
| The boss said “Good evening” to the employees and left. | Please, carry my bag for me. |
| I already explained the lesson to the class. | She is going to prepare the party for the guests |
| David described his new car to his friends | Can you hold this for me, please? |
| I admitted my mistake to my boss | Would you translate this for me? |
| He repeated your words to his brother. | The salesman suggested the new car model for me. |
| I’ll mention your needs to the director. | I recorded a video for my girlfriend |
| It sounds ok to me | Can you play the guitar for me? |
De modo geral qualquer destes verbos aceita TO ou FOR, mas muitos mudam de significado.
Veja:
I will open the door for you.( Eu vou abrir a porta por você, em seu lugar.)
I will open the door to you. (Vou abrir a porta para você passar.)
I need to send a letter to my daughter. ( Minha filha mora longe e estou enviando notícias.)
I need to send a letter for my daughter. ( Irei ao correio no lugar dela para enviar uma carta.)
O verbo To Go também aparece muitas vezes ligado a TO ou FOR. Veja:
| GO TO | GO FOR |
| go to work | go for a walk |
| go to school | go for a drive |
| go to bed | go for a beer |
| go to church | go for a ride |
| go to hell | go for it |
| go to the bank | go for the fun of it |
