love for or love of? (2025)

Hello everyone

I've been wondering: which of the above prepositions (or maybe both?) should I use in "to have love ... books/animals/nature"?

Thanks

I can think of examples in which I'd use for/of

My love for cats is only suprassed by my love for books
Her love for people was something to behold.
For the love of humanity!

dn88 said:

I'd use "for". But I guess it's much safer to say "I love books/animals/nature".

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One would normally say

I have a love of (books/films/nature)

But you could use for, as in:

I have a love for nature and the country life.

In this context if you use "for" you will almost certainly have to qualify the statement.

Trisia said:

I can think of examples in which I'd use for/of

My love for cats is only suprassed by my love for books
Her love for people was something to behold.
For the love of humanity!

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I would change your first to:

My love for cats is only suprassed by my love of books.

Joobs said:

One would normally say

I have a love of (books/films/nature)

But you could use for, as in:

I have a love for nature and the country life.

In this context if you use "for" you will almost certainly have to include an "and". Using for means you will have to qualify the statement.

Click to expand...

Right, I forgot the article.

Hi,

I came across this phrase "a love of" and looked it up in the dictionary. And I found "a love of" as well as "a love for."

The examples are:
1. his love for football
2. we share a love of music

The two prepositions here "for" and "of" don't seem to make a difference to me. So I wonder if this is just a matter of a personal choice.

I often wonder about the usage of prepositions and I hope this is not too trivial a question to be discussed.

<< Moderator's note: I have merged this with an earlier thread on the subject. I hope that people will be able to use both the earlier examples and these more recent ones to explain why they might prefer one preposition over the other in specific contexts, if they do. >>

Hi,

Your question is certainly not trivial at all. I think the choice between the 2 prepositions is a matter of personal choice. Both are colloquial and correct, I think, in most contexts. When dealing with objects, things, ideas, etc., I, for one, almost always use (and hear others use) "love of." On the other hand, when speaking of people, I would use "love for": her love for her children was evident in all she did.

I'm sure others will have other ideas.

Hi Cagey,

Thank you for merging my question with the previous one. I did do a search but didn't find this previous thread.

Hi Joelline,
Thank you for your encouragement. I'm glad this is not a trivial question. And thank you for your explanation too. I think that's a good idea to use "for" for people and "of" for ideas, things, etc. Meanwhile, I also look forward to other people's comments.