{"id":487,"date":"2009-01-21T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2009-01-21T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2009\/01\/wait-for-you-vs-wait-on-you\/"},"modified":"2011-05-31T13:31:25","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T19:31:25","slug":"wait-for-you-vs-wait-on-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/01\/wait-for-you-vs-wait-on-you\/","title":{"rendered":"“… wait for you …” vs. “… wait on you …”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I often hear one of these expressions when the other one is required.<\/p>\n

Problem:<\/strong>
\nThese two expressions are not<\/em> synonyms.<\/p>\n

Explanation:<\/strong>
\nMy wife recently heard a man say, “I will wait on you in the car.”<\/p>\n

The preposition “on” bothered her, and we discussed how frequently each of us has heard “wait on” when “wait for” was required.<\/p>\n

The common English blunder seems to be to use a form of “wait on” when a form of “wait for” is required.<\/p>\n

Someone who “waits on” someone else is acting as a waiter or waitress.<\/p>\n

So “I will wait on you in the car.” literally means “I will act as your waiter (or waitress) in the car.”<\/p>\n

The man whom my wife heard should have said “I will wait for<\/em> you in the car.” because that person was not saying that he would act as a waiter in “the car”.<\/p>\n

Solution:<\/strong>
\nUse “… wait on you …” when you are a waiter or waitress; otherwise use “… wait for you …”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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