In this mini episode, you will learn the phrase “for all intents and purposes.”
Episode 403 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the phrase “for all intents and purposes.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello, everyone! This is Mia, from South Korea. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 403 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you a very complicated sounding phrase. The phrase is, “for all intents and purposes.” For all intents and purposes.
That’s spelled for, f-o-r, all, a-l-l, intents, i-n-t-e-n-t-s, and, purposes, p-u-r-p-o-s-e-s. For all intents and purposes.
Yes, this is a complicated sounding phrase, but I think I can explain what it means and how to use it.
“For all intents and purposes” means “essentially” or “in all important ways.”
Let me give you an example of a situation where we might use the phrase “for all intents and purposes,” and then I think you will understand what it means.
Let’s say there is a couple, and they have been together for 50 years. They raised several children together, and now they have many grandchildren, and they have lived together in this big, beautiful house for many, many years. But this couple never got married. They are not actually married.
Somebody might say about this couple, “For all intents and purposes, they are married.” For all intents and purposes, they are married.
What does that mean? It means this:
Yes, it’s true that this couple is not married. They never got married. That is true. But in all of the important ways, they are like an old married couple. It’s true that they did not get married. They are not married technically, or officially, or according to the law. But they are essentially married. In all of the important ways, they are the same as a married couple.
Technically, they are not married. But, for all intents and purposes, they are married. They act like an old married couple. They have the same kind of relationship, and the same kind of family, and the same kind of life that an old married couple has. And so, in all of the important ways, they are essentially married. Not technically married, not officially married, but basically, when you look at all of their situation, they are like a married couple.
And so, you can see that “for all intents and purposes,” means something like “essentially.” Or “in all of the important ways.”
It might not be formally, or officially, or technically true, but it sure looks true. It’s very similar to something that is technically or formally or officially true.
I hope that explanation helps you understand this complicated phrase.
There’s one more thing I need to tell you about this phrase. Maybe because this is such a complicated-sounding phrase, sometimes even native speakers say it wrong. Instead of saying, “For all intents and purposes,” sometimes native speakers say, “For all intensive purposes.” That doesn’t really mean anything, and that’s not how the expression goes, but it does sound very similar to the real expression.
You should say, “For all intense and purposes,” if you want to use this phrase.
And that is “For all intents and purposes,” a very useful phrase that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 403 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Mia recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!