Yes, it is special for me.

[sitifan]

John: Isn't there a gift in your room?
Mary: _________________________
(A) Yes, there isn't a vacation spot.
(B) No, there isn't.
(C) Yes, it is special for me.
(D) No, there is a great shop.
The answer is option B. Some of my students think option C is possible. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with option C?

[JoelTC]

C is not correct for two reasons:

• "Yes, it is special for me" simply doesn't make sense in context. It might be a cultural issue, but I can't imagine a situation where you would apply "it is special for me" to a generic object.
• "It is special for me" is not a grammatically correct construction in the first place. "...special to me" or "...especially for me" would work, but "special" is an adjective and cannot modify a prepositional phrase like "for me."