as to and as for

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have difficulty in distinguishing the meanings of as to and as for. Could you please kindly explain it to me?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Tdol]

If you mean for purpose, use for + noun and to + verb:

I stopped for a break.
I stoppedto have lunch.

[jiang]

Dear tdol,

Thank you very much for your reply. I am sorry I didn't post my question clearly. What I meant was what is the difference between " as for sb./sth" and " as to sb./sth." Could you please kindly explain the difference to me?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Natalie27]

as to...sb/sth... acts as a preposition
as for..same thing...means with regard to/with respect to/concerning.

You will use those phrases when you introduce a topic or when you want to make a transition from something previously discussed.

ex.
"As to/As for the content of the conversation between the hospital and the patient, things will be kept strictly confidential".

both mean the same= "With regards to the content...."

[Tdol]

Sorry, I misread the question. ;-(

[jiang]

Dear Natalie,

Thank you very much for your explanation. To make sure that I understand your explanation I'd like to show how I understand it:
According to your explanation, both are prepositonal phrase and there isn't any difference between the meanings of them. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Natalie27]

Hi Jiang,

They both mean pretty much the same thing but I would try to avoid "as to" as it sounds somewhat pretentious and stiff if placed at the beginning of a sentence. "As for" is less formal and sounds much better, I think.

[jiang]

I see. Thanks!

Jiang

[Natalie27]

you are welcome!