a little prize for the worst garden

[diamondcutter]

Lesson 8 The best and the worst

Joe Sanders has the most beautiful garden in our town. Nearly everybody enters for 'The Nicest Garden Competition' each year, but Joe wins every time. Bill Frith's garden is larger than Joe's. Bill works harder than Joe and grows more flowers and vegetables, but Joe's garden is more interesting. He has made neat paths and has built a wooden bridge over a pool. I like gardens too, but I do not like hard work. Every year I enter for the garden competition too, and I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town!

(New Concept English 2, L. G. Alexander, Longman)

In the last sentence, I wonder if the “for” expresses a reason or has the same usage as the following examples:

the Nobel Prize for Physics
the Oscar Award for the best actor

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Tdol]

It does for me.

 

[emsr2d2]

And for me too. The thing that surprises me about that piece is the two uses of "enters for ... competition". I find that unnatural, if not wrong. We simply enter competitions.

 

[diamondcutter]

It does for me.

Sorry, I don't quite understand your reply. I wonder if you mean that the 'for' in 'I always win a little prize for the worst garden in the town' has two meanings: expressing a reason and introducing an attributive.

 

[probus]

In my opinion "enter for" is substandard. You may run across it, especially in small-market American newspapers, but it is best to simply use enter.

 

[diamondcutter]

Dear teachers,

Would you please be kind enough to answer my question?

 

[tedmc]

Dear teachers,

Would you please be kind enough to answer my question?

Your question has been answered in posts 2 & 3. "Prize for" is correct; "enter for competition" is not.

 

[emsr2d2]

"winning a little prize for the worst garden in town" uses "for" in the same way as "Nobel Prize for Physics" etc.

I don't know what you mean by asking if it "expresses a reason". Can you give us an example of a sentence in which "for" expresses a reason.

 

[diamondcutter]

I don't know what you mean by asking if it "expresses a reason". Can you give us an example of a sentence in which "for" expresses a reason.

What about these examples?

We could hardly see for the mist.
A certain amount must be deduced for depreciation.
(Longman)
He got an award for bravery.
(Oxford)

I wonder if the ‘fors’ in these sentences show a reason or cause.

Thanks again.

 

[diamondcutter]

"Prize for" is correct; "enter for competition" is not.

Thanks, teachers.

I’ve found these examples in my dictionaries.

Only four British players have entered for the championship.
(Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary)

(Brit)He entered for the tournament.
(Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary)

Could I say that ‘enter for a competition’ is not totally wrong but old-fashioned?

 

[GoesStation]

Could I say that ‘enter for a competition’ is not totally wrong but old-fashioned?

It just looks wrong to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

Maybe it was commonly used in the past but it's not now.

 

[Tdol]

Enter the competition for a prize.

 

[Tdol]

I’ve found these examples in my dictionaries.

Only four British players have entered for the championship.
(Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary)

They have entered a competition which will lead them to the championship.

You could learn English faster and more naturally if you stopped trying to prove native speakers wrong. We're not wrong. We may be weird and confusing, but we are right. This is how it goes.

 

[jutfrank]

Be careful when using the word reason, which has different senses.

I'll second what Tdol says above. When you find that a dictionary seems to contradict something we say, we are still right so you should listen to us. This is one of the reasons we are here.

 

[Tarheel]

I try not to be weird and confusing.

;-)

 

[jutfrank]

I try not to be weird and confusing.

;-)

Right. Well, keep trying. Maybe one day ...


(;-))