Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

Do they have the same meaning?

[Woland]

Just off the top of my head, 'for' seems to be required when we speak of something related to our corporeal being, e.g.,

This pill is useful for me. (although 'useful' is odd in talking about pills)
*This pill is useful to me.

This distinction seems even clearer with other adjectives, like 'good' or 'bad'.

This leads me to muse a bit further:

This prosthetic leg is useful for me (in that it allows me to exercise and maintain my health).

This prosthetic leg is useful to me (in that it provides a semblance of normality to my life).

Not sure how well this holds up.

I'm sure that there are other differences. You'd need to do a corpus search 'useful' and 'for pronoun' and 'to pronoun' within a certain number of words or 'useful' to get a database to analyze. Again, note that changing the adjective will produce different results.

[Kimchieluver]

I have the same question. Many korean English teachers say "This ring is special for me". I always say, when I speak, "This ring is special to me".

[jmbran11]

I can't differentiate with the adjective "useful", but I could think of other adjectives that would have a slightly different meaning.

For example:
My dog is good for me. (She's a service dog or she helps me excercise).
My dog is good to me. (She's well-behaved and licks my nose).

Although, this is pretty slight. I think the difference is not as important as teaching this with verbs. (e.g. "Please do it to me" vs. "Please do it for me.")

[Woland]

I've posted a longer reposnse to a similar question by gatorchick82 in this thread in the off-topic forum:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=77524

Interesting that the same grammar question should come up twice in one day. Great minds and all that.

I really do recommend Willis' book to anyone.

[Samantha]

Then there is the situation that arises with "belongs" and "used".

The (item) belongs to me. means ownership.

compare to

This (item) is for me. also implies ownership, but in a slightly different flavor. "Is for me" is used to seperate one or more items from a larger group. "These three are for me, the rest are for you". It still implies an ownership relationship but in response to some other person or item.

(The animal/person) is used to me. means has developed a familiarity to me and is no longer shy or upset around me. (This may not be the best grammar in written form but it is spoken quite often in the States).


I'm not sure if this is in the same vein as the OP's question but it does show other contexts for the "to me"/"for me" phrases.