Prepositions are hard, and these are the ones that confuse me the most:

  • It seems (…) [to / for] me
  • It looks like (…) [to / for] me
  • It feels (…) [to / for] me
  • It sounds like (…) [to / for] me
  • (…) makes more sense [to / for] me

Questions:

  • Are both valid?
    • If both are valid; is there any nuance as to which to use?
    • If they aren’t: is there a general rule or is it a case-by-case (as it usually is with prepositions)?

Thanks!

  • asterisk@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    For me, “for me” is more subjective than “to me”, suggesting there may be other equally valid points of view.

    But I would never say “It seems for me”, or the other items in your list except for “…makes more sense for me…”.

    • Crul@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      What I’m getting is that using “to me” as the default is a safe option and the use of “for me” is more nuanced (… and I don’t understand in which sense).

      Thanks!

      • asterisk@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Yes, that seems about right to me.

        I can’t quite put my finger on the rule for when you can use “for me”; perhaps there isn’t one.

        I do think, however, that you can safely put “For me,” at the beginning of the sentence instead of using “to me” later: “For me, it seems…”, “For me, it looks like…”, etc.