Learn English – “The purpose of” versus “the purpose for” — which one is proper
grammaticalityprepositionsword-choice
Is there even a difference between the two?
Best Answer
My thought is that "purpose of" refers to an intended function of an item. "Purpose for" refers to how an item will be used, regardless of that use's relation to the item's intended function.
Hmm. I'm not describing that well. How about this:
The "purpose of" a shoe is protecting your feet. A possible "purpose for" a shoe is to smash bugs.
So "purpose of" describes a property or capacity of a shoe, where "purpose for" describes what might be done with a shoe.
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish => "to this purpose" (as in "to this end", "to this intent", "to this objective", "to this target", ...)
the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted => "for this purpose" (as in "for this function", "for this job", "for this position", "for this task", ...)
In scientific studies, the use of this word (significant) implies that a statistical test was employed to make a decision about the data; [...]. Limit the use of the word "significant" to this purpose only.
Organize your presentation so your reader will understand the logical flow of the experiment(s); subheadings work well for this purpose
Best Answer
My thought is that "purpose of" refers to an intended function of an item. "Purpose for" refers to how an item will be used, regardless of that use's relation to the item's intended function.
Hmm. I'm not describing that well. How about this:
The "purpose of" a shoe is protecting your feet. A possible "purpose for" a shoe is to smash bugs.
So "purpose of" describes a property or capacity of a shoe, where "purpose for" describes what might be done with a shoe.