Important for Me, Kind of You: For and Of with Infinitives
By the end: I can distinguish the person involved in an action from a judgement about someone’s behaviour.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Name the person involved
For plus a person can identify who does the infinitive action, especially with important, difficult or easy.
It’s important for me to arrive early.
It’s difficult for Ana to travel today.
Judge someone’s behaviour
With adjectives such as kind or rude, of identifies the person whose action you are evaluating.
It was kind of you to help.
It was rude of him to interrupt.
Keep roles and meanings separate
Important for me concerns the action’s importance to or for me. Kind of me evaluates my conduct. Use object pronouns after for/of.
It’s easy for her to reach the shelf.
It was thoughtful of them to call.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.
1. Complete: It’s important ___ us to check.
Compare a model and explanation
for
Important links the action and its participants.
2. Complete: It was kind ___ her to stay.
Compare a model and explanation
of
Kind evaluates her behaviour.
3. Correct: It’s difficult for she to come.
Compare a model and explanation
It’s difficult for her to come.
Use an object pronoun after for.
4. Correct: It was rude of he to laugh.
Compare a model and explanation
It was rude of him to laugh.
Use him after of.
5. Who travels in It’s difficult for Ana to travel?
Compare a model and explanation
Ana.
For introduces the infinitive actor.
6. Who is praised in It was thoughtful of Ben to help?
Compare a model and explanation
Ben.
Of identifies the person evaluated.
7. Make a statement about an action’s importance, not kindness.
Compare a model and explanation
It’s important for us to reply today.
Do not force of with important here.
8. Write one practical difficulty and one evaluation of helpful behaviour.
Compare a model and explanation
It’s hard for me to carry this. It was kind of you to help.
The prepositions express different relations.
A short conversation
Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: It’s difficult for me to finish this alone.
B: I’ll help. It’s important for us to send it today.
A: That’s kind of you to offer.
B: It was thoughtful of Ana to share her notes too.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking 1
Describe two actions that are important or difficult for someone.
Reveal a possible response
It’s important for us to listen. It’s difficult for Ben to travel today.
Success check: Name the relevant participants.
Speaking 2
Thank or evaluate someone using of and an infinitive.
Reveal a possible response
It was kind of you to stay. It was thoughtful of her to call.
Success check: Evaluate the person’s behaviour.
Put it all together
Explain a difficulty, a practical need and a helpful response.
Reveal a possible response
It’s hard for me to carry the boxes. It’s important for us to finish today. It was generous of Leo to help.
Success check: Do not interchange for and of mechanically.
Take it with you
I can distinguish the person involved in an action from a judgement about someone’s behaviour.