for [time period] v. through [time period] v. over [time period]?

[hhtt21]

Would you please explain the difference between "for a period of time", "through a period of time" and "over a period of time" with respect to both meaning and usage?

 

[emsr2d2]

Please give us at least one complete sentence for each phrase and then we can help.

 

[hhtt21]

Okay then,

1. Over years, he became bold.
2. For years, he became bold.
3. Through years, he became bold.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure what any of them mean, but only #1 is really possible, if you add "the" in "Over the years".

 

[hhtt21]

I'm not sure what any of them mean, but only #1 is really possible, if you add "the" in "Over the years".

Sorry for mistakes. I am rewritting the examples.

1. Over the years, he became bald.
2. For years, he became bald.
3. through the years, h became bald.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry for the mistakes. I am rewriting have rewritten the examples.

1. Over the years, he became bald.
2. For years, he became bald.
3. Through the years, he became bald.

#1 is the only grammatically correct sentence. However, it's more natural to say "he went bald" (BrE).

 

[hhtt21]

Why do you prefer "over the years" but not "For years" or "Through the years" in such a situation?

 

[tedmc]

"For years" and "through the years" do not go with "became'. Balding is a gradual process over a period of time.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you change the construction of the sentence you could use "for years".

He's been going bald for years.

 

[jutfrank]

Let's start here:

Over the years, he became more and more knowledgeable.

The main part of the sentence he became more and more bold describes a gradual change. The modifier more and more helps to express this meaning. The time phrase Over the years expresses the period in which this gradual change took place.

It isn't easy to use the preposition over in this kind of time phrase because we don't usually use a period phrase (two minutes, ten weeks, twenty years) after it. Instead, we use a noun phrase that often begins with the, and sometimes with the course of + period phrase:

Over the past two years, my English has improved considerably.
Over the course of my life, I've become much more confident as a person.
Over the next thirty minutes, you will learn how to use today's vocabulary.

Focus on using the preposition over before you move on to the other two prepositions, which have different meanings and uses.