Difference between invite for and invite to

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skystar30097

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Hello
Wha is the difference between invite for and invite to :?:
 

bhaisahab

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skystar30097

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Thanks for your reply:).
I saw in Oxford Collocation Dictionary that both prepositions 'for' and 'to' can be used with the verb 'invite'. are the following examples correct?
I invited them to lunch.
I invited them to my birthday party.
I want to know is that correct to use the preposition 'for' instead of 'to' in these contexts as follow?
I invited them for lunch.
I invited them for my birthday party.



 

andur92

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I invited them to lunch.
I invited them to my birthday party.
I invited them for lunch.
I invited them for my birthday party.

In the above sentences, according to me, the first three are correct but the last one is wrong. It really depends on the context. For example:

I invited him to the restaurant for dinner. (Correct)
I invited him for the restaurant for dinner. (Incorrect).
 

skystar30097

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emsr2d2

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You could use "I invited them for my birthday party".

You are going away for the weekend with some friends for your birthday. On the Saturday evening, you plan to have a big birthday party. You have invited an extra twenty people to come just on the Saturday evening. One of your friends doesn't really understand what's going on and the following exchange takes place:

Friend - Someone told me another twenty people are coming on Saturday evening.
You - Yes, that's right.
Friend - I don't understand. Why did you invite them?
You - I invited them for my birthday party.

It's true that what you have done is invite those twenty people to your birthday party but you have invited them to the venue for (meaning "in order to attend") your birthday party.
 
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