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  • I applied for a job. (Sense of 'for'=asked for something in writing)

  • I applied for my friend. (Sense of 'for'=on behalf of)

Are those sentence correct?

Can I use 'for' in this way, because already a fixed preposition is there?

1 Answer 1

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Yes, you can "apply for someone" meaning "on their behalf". It just implies that the thing you're applying for is elided.

— Congratulations, honey! You got the waiter job!
— Huh? I didn't even apply for it.
— Oh, I applied for you. I figured it was about time you started working during the summers.
Mo-om!!

By the way, the sense you supply for "for" in the first case doesn't make sense. It has nothing to do with writing. If you want to supply a synonym for that "for", it would be "to request".

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  • "Oh, I applied for you. I figured it was about time you started working during the summers." What this sentence is trying to express?
    – Sam
    Sep 1, 2022 at 5:01
  • @Ase A common trope in North America: when a teenager gets old enough, their parents want them to hold part-time jobs during the summers between school terms. Since teens rarely want to spend their summers this way, it seemed like a good opportunity to use "apply for" in the sense of "on someone's behalf" :) Sep 1, 2022 at 11:26
  • Ok, it was right time, when he should work, so his friend did it on his behalf. Am i Right?
    – Sam
    Sep 1, 2022 at 12:43
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    @Ase Yup, but "Mo-om!!" indicates it was his mom who applied. Sep 1, 2022 at 13:13

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