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'Request To' or 'Request For'? Which One Is Correct? | Mastering Grammar

(Last Updated: 11 June 2024)


Request To or Request For: Which One Is Correct?

When the noun request is followed by a verb, use the to-infinitive form (e.g. to do, to meet, to make, and to postpone):

The principal received a request to meet with the student's parents.

✅ There was a formal request to postpone the meeting until next month.

✅ She submitted a request to access the classified information for her research.

When the noun request is followed by another noun or a noun phrase, use the pattern request for something:

✅ We made a request for additional funding.

✅ He filed a request for a transfer to a different department.

✅ We submitted a request for permission to start the project early.

Note, however, that when request is used as a verb, the preposition for is not needed:

✅ requested a window seat when I booked my flight online.
❌ requested for a window seat when I booked my flight online.

✅ She requested additional time to complete the assignment.
❌ She requested for additional time to complete the assignment.

✅ The customer requested a refund after finding a defect in the product.
❌ The customer requested for a refund after finding a defect in the product.

Do not use the pattern request for doing something:

❌ He filed a request for receiving additional training.
✅ He filed a request to receive additional training.

She submitted a request for reviewing the documents.
She submitted a request to review the documents.

The department made a request for increasing their budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The department made a request to increase their budget for the upcoming fiscal year.


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Examples from the Media

The request to remove social-media posts that linked to an unspecified Toronto Sun article came from a director of communications at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on Sept. 27, 2021. Toronto Star (2023)

'I can't imagine that request [from the Duke] fell through the gaps. Even if they didn't get a request, which I don't believe, could His Majesty not have made a request to see his son? It was widely known he was coming', one insider said. —Daily Mail (2024)

Waratahs captain Jake Gordon is expected to see out the remainder of his contract with NSW and Rugby Australia after a rare request for an early release was rejected by the game's governing body. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2024)

Mexican kingpin Joaquin Archivaldo "El Chapo" Guzman Loera had his request for phone calls and visits with his young daughters denied by a federal judge, who wrote in the motion that the Bureau of Prisons is now "solely responsible" for the lonely drug lord's conditions. —CBS News (2024)

Practice

Fill in the blanks with to, for, or X if no word is needed.

1. We made a request ___ begin work immediately.

2. The team submitted a request ___ more resources.

3. The team submitted a request ___ extend the deadline.

4. During the conference, participants requested ___ more information about the new software.

5. She filed a request ___ information under the Freedom of Information Act.

6. I received your request ___ feedback on the project, and I will respond shortly.

7. He filed a request ___ review the case files again due to new evidence surfacing.

8. The manager requested ___ daily updates from the project team.

9. Following the seminar, there was an overwhelming request ___ additional workshops.

10. The organisation sent a request ___ participate in the trade fair.

11. There was a request ___ additional time to complete the assessments.

12. The software update was implemented following a user request ___ more features.

Answer Key 

1. to    2. for    3. to    4. X    5. for    6. for    7. to    8. X    9. for    10. to    11. for    12. for

Recommended Further Reading

'Request Something' or 'Request for Something'?

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