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The first public botanical garden in the United States, the Elgin Botanic Garden in New York City was established to provide plant materials ...

A) for medical students to study

B) for the study of medical students

Hello! As I was completing the sentence above, I faced the dilemma of choosing between two choices. The answer given by the book is

for medical students to study

however I didn't quite get why the other one does not work.

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    Perhaps because a study of X means that we are going to study X itself, e.g. a study of English. Feb 8, 2014 at 20:31

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What makes this question tricky is that it is not a choice between two prepositions, but between the use of study as an infinitive and as a regular noun.

When study is a verb, the thing being studied is its direct object.

Odonatologists study dragonflies and other damselflies.

When study is a noun, of indicates either the phenomenon being researched or the subjects of the research, both when study refers to a particular research project and when it refers to an entire discipline.

A study of estuary birds found high levels of selenium in their bloodstream.

There have been two studies of water pollution in the estuary, one of birds and one of damselflies.

Odonatology is the study of dragonflies and other damselflies.

The person or institution conducting or sponsoring the study would be indicated with a by prepositional phrase.

A study by the university detected selenium leaching into the water near the mine.

While medical students might be an interesting subject for psychologists or economists to study, it is more likely that the plant materials mentioned are to be used by medical students themselves. Thus one would choose option A.

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  • So is it also correct to say "for the study by medical students"? Feb 8, 2014 at 22:14
  • @ZaferCesur One could say for study by medical students, i.e. for the purpose of study. To say for a study or for the study would indicate a particular research project.
    – choster
    Feb 8, 2014 at 22:23

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