1

Which of the two sentences is correct?

  1. He refused the organization's offer for help.
  2. He refused the organization's offer to help.

Did a few searches online, and I found that both are widely used.

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3 Answers 3

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1

Both are OK, although "of" would be better than "for" in example 1.

The confusion arises because the word "help" can be either a noun or a verb.

In the first, "help" is a noun. A close paraphrase would be:

He refused the organisation's offer for assistance.

But the following sounds better and more natural:

He refused the organisation's offer of assistance/help.

In the second, "help" is a verb. A close paraphrase would be:

He refused the organisation's offer to assist.

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1

Context is important here.

He refused the organisation’s offer for help.

The organisation requires his help. They are offering him something in exchange for the help. It is not acceptable. He refused the organisation’s offer for help.

He refused the organisation’s offer to help

The organisation wants to help him and he doesn’t want it.

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3
  • Since the organizing is offering something, that must be help. Where is there any information that they want something in return?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 12:28
  • @YosefBaskin imagine he’s selling his car. The organisation wants to buy it but made an offer that was not acceptable. He refused the organisation’s offer for the car.
    – Arkhem
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 12:32
  • +1. It’s normally a request for help vs an offer to help, but you’ve nailed the to/for distinction.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Aug 17, 2020 at 15:44
-1

The word “for” is usually used to show:

  • Purpose e.i. “I wear old trousers for painting.”
  • Denote a receiver of something e.i. “She bought a teapot for her sister.”
  • Express duration e.i. “I usually go there for a couple of hours.”
  • Indicate exchange e.i. “The shirt was sold for a dollar.”
  • Replace “because” e.i. “I missed school yesterday for I was sick.”

Since Number 1 does not fall under any of these uses, therefore, the correct answer is Number 2.

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4
  • 2
    On what grounds?
    – Isabel Archer
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 9:32
  • If that is your reasoning, you should include it in your answer. You may want to visit the site's help center to consult the section on proposing good answers.
    – Isabel Archer
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 12:15
  • Thanks for the suggestion.
    – Jetchico
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 12:17
  • Can you address why the choice you chose as the incorrect choice is incorrect?
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented May 22, 2020 at 12:30

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