In/on one's behalf

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Seraphin

#552266 Thu, 07 Aug 08 08:48 PM

According to the dictionary, there IS a difference between

"in my behalf" and "on my behalf".

I wonder if there is any actual difference in the daily usage of these

two idioms. Thank you

Seraphin

Joined on Sat, Feb 9 2008

Full Member (146)

Idioms, Difference Between

Feebs11

#552333 Fri, 08 Aug 08 12:44 AM

I don't believe I have ever met "in my behalf".

There are 9 occurences in the American National Corpus, which all look to me like grammatical errors.

Feebs11

Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006

Veteran Member (5,003)

Mr Wordy

#552345 Fri, 08 Aug 08 01:44 AM

I would never say "in my behalf", I don't believe that I have ever heard anyone else say it, and if I read it I would probably assume it to be a typo or blunder, depending on how much I trusted the source.

However, there are 1800 Google Book hits for this phrase, many dating back to the 1800s, and I find it very hard to believe that they are all typos or errors.

So...

Mr Wordy

Joined on Tue, May 27 2008

Regular Member (960)

Native British English speaker

Grammar Geek

#552347 Fri, 08 Aug 08 01:48 AM

Seraphin
According to the dictionary, there IS a difference between
"in my behalf" and "on my behalf"

It's not used on this side of the Atlantic, either. What does your dictionary say it means, Saraphin?

Grammar Geek

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006

Pennsylvania, USA

Veteran Member (16,089)

Barbara, who answers in American English.

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Seraphin

#552505 Fri, 08 Aug 08 02:27 PM

What if I want to say "in the interest of someone", can I still use "on one's behalf" ?

According to the dictionaries,

Random House Unabridged Dictionary

(1) in or on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for

(2) in or on (someone's) behalf, in the interest or aid of (someone)

American Heritage Dictionary
Usage Note: A traditional rule holds that in behalf of and on behalf of have distinct meanings. In behalf of means "for the benefit of," as in We raised money in behalf of the earthquake victims. On behalf of means "as the agent of, on the part of," as in The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the minor child. The two meanings are quite close, however, and the phrases are often used interchangeably, even by reputable writer

Seraphin

Grammar Geek

#552536 Fri, 08 Aug 08 03:30 PM

Truthfully, I wouldn't say "We're raising money in behalf of the fire victims." I'd say "We're raising money to benefit the fire victims" or "... for the benefit fo the fire victims."

Grammar Geek