# What is the semantic between the terms "take someone on a vacation" and "take someone for a vacation"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-semantic-between-the-terms-take-someone-on-a-vacation-and-take-someone-for-a-vacation/982703>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 15, 2023, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-semantic-between-the-terms-take-someone-on-a-vacation-and-take-someone-for-a-vacation/982703 "2023-04-15T05:41:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-semantic-between-the-terms-take-someone-on-a-vacation-and-take-someone-for-a-vacation/982703/21 "2023-04-17T10:12:59Z")

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> > [@Mallard](#):
> >
> > then he says “let’s try AND find out” when I think he means “let’s try TO find out”.
> 
> > [@markn\_1](#):
> >
> > There’s a regional difference in this one. “Try and” is much more common in British English than it is in American English.

Yes to this. [A Practical English Grammar](https://www.amazon.com/Practical-English-Grammar-Audrey-Thomson/dp/0194313425/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MXZDCMJXIIEZ&keywords=a+practical+english+grammar&qid=1681726345&sprefix=a+practical+english+%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-1), by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet indicates several verbs that are used this way, including come and go:

_“You’ll just have to go/come and see for yourself.”_

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-semantic-between-the-terms-take-someone-on-a-vacation-and-take-someone-for-a-vacation/982703/22 "2023-04-17T13:56:50Z")

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“On” and “for” have much more potential difference in meaning than “in” and “on”. “For” implies a purpose more clearly than “on”. But people rarely consider the differences to matter at all. An author trying to find the wording that best fits the context might consider the differences, I don’t think people consciously notice these details.

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**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-semantic-between-the-terms-take-someone-on-a-vacation-and-take-someone-for-a-vacation/982703/23 "2023-04-17T16:58:43Z")

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> [@doreen](#):
>
> It might be a regional thing , but Americans also use “visit” - if I visit a friend, it means I am traveling somewhere ( maybe next door) to see that friend. " Visit with" is slightly different - it more or less means to have a social conversation. So I might “visit with” a coworker before a meeting or a friend and I might be “visiting with” each other on my front porch.

You may well be right, but as a Brit who has lived in the US for a long time, the “visit with” phrase seems to be much more used here than just plain “visit”?

Oh well, language is defined by usage, not dictionaries. The apostrope wars are probably already lost, and ‘alot’ is apparently a word now…

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