Should I say ‘free’ or ‘for free’?
‘I got this chocolate free’ or ‘I got this chocolate for free’?
You can use both ‘free’ and ‘for free’.
Usually, you use ‘free’ because ‘free’ already means without cost or charge. However, ‘for free’ is a common idiom in English language, and is used as often as ‘free’.
- I can fly to Canada free.
or
- I can fly to Canada for free.
Both sentences are correct; however, ‘for free’ sounds more natural.
Let’s take a look at another example:
- This chocolate was free.
or
- This chocolate was for free.
Here, ‘free’ sounds more natural.
Let’s look at some other examples:
- The book was free.
- I got the second ring for free.
- The trip to Hawaii was amazing, and it was free.
- We went to Hawaii for free.
Questions:
- Was this chocolate free?
- Did you get this TV for free?
If you are really confused, and want to sound natural, try to use one of the other synonyms:
- for nothing
- for no payment
- free of charge
- for no charge
- This book was free of charge.
- I got this trip for nothing.
Also, you can use ‘free’ before the noun in a sentence (which will be even easier):
- I got a free book.
- I received a free chocolate.
I hope this helps!
Read more:
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