Which part of speech is ...?

[TheParser]

[QUOTE=learning54;834871]

is the preposition after tickets 'to' or for'?


Thank you for your kind note.

I do not have the confidence to answer your excellent question.

I, too, am eager to see what a teacher says.

[Soup]

Which What part of speech is ...?

Right, thank you. Which for choice, as in Which sentence element is it, the subject or the direct object?

"tickets" is the head [...]".

True, 'how many' modifies the noun 'tickets'.

"be" is not a helping verb in the sentence; "be going to" (almost) is.

To me the phrasal modal construct 'is going to' is not opaque: 'is' (aux) 'going' (participle) 'to' (infinitive marker).

[Soup]

[QUOTE=TheParser;834877]

is the preposition after tickets 'to' or for'?


Thank you for your kind note.

I do not have the confidence to answer your excellent question.

I, too, am eager to see what a teacher says.

In my dialect, both 'to' and 'for' work in that context, but 'to' sounds more natural to me, 'for' admitting a slight yet recoverable ambiguity and hence my choice of 'to' over 'for' in this particular context (note, this is a personal judgment, one not necessarily shared by other native speakers of my dialect):

1. Caroline is buying 4 tickets to the concert.
2. Caroline is buying 4 tickets for us/the concert.

[learning54]

Hi Soup,
Thank for this additional explanation!

Best,
Learning

[5jj]

In my dialect, both 'to' and 'for' work in that context, but 'to' sounds more natural to me, 'for' admitting a slight yet recoverable ambiguity and hence my choice of 'to' over 'for' in this particular context (note, this is a personal judgment, one not necessarily shared by other native speakers of my dialect):

1. Caroline is buying 4 tickets to the concert.
2. Caroline is buying 4 tickets for us/the concert.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that. I think I use 'for', but I am not sure. I tried COCA, with these results:

Tickets to the: ... show (5)/concert (5)/theatre (1)/performance (0)/game (20)
Tickets for the: .. show (5)/concert (5)/theatre (1)/performance (3)/game (3)

'to' comes out as the more popular. This is mainly because of 'game' (and despite 'performance'); I have no idea why that should be. In any case, I think that the numbers are too low to be significant.

[TheParser]

[QUOTE=learning54;834871

Is the preposition after tickets 'to' or for'?



*** NOT A TEACHER ***


(1) The teacher and the moderator both gave us great answers.

(2) I visited Professor Google and wish to report my findings:

(a) There is no one "right" answer.

(b) [B]Some[/B] (!) people feel "to" is more American English.

(c) Some (!) people feel "for" is more British English.

(d) Finally I found these quotations in the Google "books" section:

(i) Students with tickets to the concert were excused from music class.
-- Editing Today Workbook, 2003, Ron F. Smith.

(ii) The tickets for the concert were all snapped up.
-- Cambridge Learner's Dictionary, 2006.

(iii) Will you send me two tickets to the concert on July 8?
-- Understanding English Grammar, 2003, Ronald Wardhaugh.

(iv) They must never purchase a half-penny newspaper or spend a penny to buy a ticket for a popular concert.
-- The Nation, 1902 (Dublin, Ireland).

(v) He refused to buy a ticket for the concert.
--Standard Handbook of Prepositions, 1953, Funk & Wagnalls Company.

(vi) Enclosing two tickets to the concert at the Hollywood ....
-- American Magazine, 1950.

(vii) What are the chances of getting a ticket to the coming concert?
-- Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, 2008.

[learning54]

Hi TheParser,
Thank you so much for sharing your findings. What a good job you did!

Best,
Learning

[Soup]

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that. I think I use 'for', but I am not sure. I tried COCA, with these results:

Tickets to the: ... show (5)/concert (5)/theatre (1)/performance (0)/game (20)
Tickets for the: .. show (5)/concert (5)/theatre (1)/performance (3)/game (3)

'to' comes out as the more popular. This is mainly because of 'game' (and despite 'performance'); I have no idea why that should be. [...]

Could be a social aspect: people who go to games, sports fanatics, use the internet to talk about it more so than people who go to performances? (just an observation)

[Rover_KE]

I would say

'I bought two tickets for the concert', but on the train I would buy two tickets to Manchester.

Rover

[5jj]

Could be a social aspect: people who go to games, sports fanatics, use the internet to talk about it more so than people who go to performances? (just an observation)

That would certainly sound reasonable as an explanation of why there are more sentences with 'game' than with the other three put together. It doesn't explain why these people prefer 'to' - not that I can offer any better (or indeed, any) explanation.

I tried BNC, and found 'tickets to (0) / for (5) the game'. There appears to be a BrE preference for 'for' - which would explain my choice. However, once again, I think that the numbers are too low to be significant.