[Grammar] file...with/to

[ShirleyLing]

"He filed an application with/to the department."

Would it be "with" or "to" here?

 

[SoothingDave]

With

 

[ShirleyLing]

So, "file ... to..." doesn't exist?

 

[emsr2d2]

So, "file ... to..." doesn't exist?

He filed an application to go to university.
He filed an application to join the police service.

So it's file + article + noun + to + bare infinitive + noun.

 

[ShirleyLing]

So, "file some papers to some department for approval of something" is wrong?

 

[Barb_D]

So, "file some papers to some department for approval of something" is wrong?

It's certainly not how I would expect to see it, and not how I would ever say or write it.

 

[emsr2d2]

So, "file some papers to some department for approval of something" is wrong?

Yes, it's wrong. Sorry, I may not have made my examples clear enough. In those examples I gave, it was "to file an application to + do something".

In your example here I would say one probably "files some papers with XXX department for their approval" or just possibly "files some papers in/at XXX dept".

The problem with prepositions in English is that sometimes only one is possible and sometimes several are possible!