Usage of "for" correct?

Question

My coworker uses "for" in a way that just doesn't look right to me and I want to know if he is using it correctly. Examples below:

"Let me know, for I’ll need to change the purchase order."

"May I have your contact, for I received different information and they need to be placed into the PMM system."

Seems fine to me. Just another way of saying "because". Though admittedly rather old-fashioned and probably done that way on purpose, consciously or subconsciously. See When are “because”, “since”,“for” and “as” interchangeable? — RegDwigнt, Jul 31 '14 at 23:09
For in this sense is literary/ poetic usage and is seldom found in conversational English. Your friend means to say (should be saying) 'because' instead. — Kris, Aug 01 '14 at 05:20
"He was asked to leave, for he didn't have valid ID om him" — Dust_In_The_Wind, Aug 01 '14 at 09:21

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 31 '14 at 23:50

As RegDwigнt indicates in his comment above, for can serve as a conjunction with the following meaning (per Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary):

for the reason that : on this ground : BECAUSE

In his poem Jubilato Agno, Christopher Smart used this conjunctive form of for at the beginning of 74 consecutive lines (depending on whether you take the "Poor Jeoffrey" line as being embedded in the "For he is of the Lord's poor" line). The usage is somewhat less common today than in Smart's day (the middle to late 1700s), I imagine, but it is still very widespread.

Usage of "for" correct?

1 Answers1