ENGLISH
REFERENCE

wait for

phr. v..
A1 Beginner Oxford General-service

phr. v.. to stay in one place or delay an action until someone arrives or something happens.

phr. v.. to stay in a state of expectation or to delay action until a specified time or event occurs; a transitive phrasal verb requiring the preposition 'for' to introduce the object.


SIMPLE

I am waiting for the bus.

CONTEXTUAL

We had to wait for the rain to stop before we could start the football match.

COMPLEX

The investors are waiting for the quarterly results to be published before they decide whether to increase their holdings in the company.

Particles
for
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
wait + for + object
Usage

always requires 'for' when followed by the person or thing you are expecting.

Teaching tip

common error for speakers of Romance languages who may omit the preposition 'for' because their native verb is direct; practice with 'wait for' vs 'await' (formal, no preposition).

Pitfall

I am waiting the train.I am waiting for the train.the verb 'wait' is intransitive and needs the preposition 'for' to connect to an object.

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