The rule, as people use it

"Of" connects a part to the whole it belongs to. You'll use it most for amounts and pieces: a cup of coffee, a lot of people, half of the cake, the end of the movie, the top of the page. It also shows who or what something belongs to when the owner isn't a person: the name of the street, the door of the car.

"To" points toward a place or a person. You go to work, walk to the station, talk to your manager, send a message to a friend. It's the arrow in the sentence: something moves, and "to" tells you where it lands.

"For" is about who gets the benefit, what the purpose is, or how long something lasts. "This is for you." "We went out for dinner." "I waited for twenty minutes."

Two slips come up all the time. The first is to and for after give, send, buy and make. If the thing travels to someone, use "to": "I sent the file to Omar." If you do something on their behalf, use "for": "I bought flowers for my mom." The second is "for" with length of time. Use "for" with a stretch of time and "since" with a starting point: "for three years", but "since 2023". Also, a few verbs take no word at all where you might expect one: you call someone, you tell someone, you go home. "Go to home" is a very common learner slip.

Examples

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Fill the gap

Type the missing words, then check. The full sentence plays when you get it.

  1. 1

    Could I have a cup (of / for) tea, please?

  2. 2

    I gave my old laptop (to / for) my cousin.

  3. 3

    Oliver cooked dinner (to / for) the whole family.

  4. 4

    We waited (for / since) almost an hour.

  5. 5

    Li Na has studied Spanish (for / since) last summer.

  6. 6

    Omar is talking (to / for) the landlord about the heater.

  7. 7

    They sat at the back (of / to) the room.

  8. 8

    Thanks (to / for) your help yesterday.

Practice · 3 min

Write six sentences about things you did this month: two with "of" for an amount ("a box of", "a lot of"), two with "to" for a place or a person you went or sent something to, and two with "for", one for a person and one for a length of time. Say them out loud. Then find any length of time and check that it's "for" with a stretch and "since" with a starting point.

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.