{"id":2475,"date":"2017-06-13T15:24:20","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T21:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2475"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:23:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:23:22","slug":"in-behalf-of-vs-on-behalf-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/in-behalf-of-vs-on-behalf-of\/","title":{"rendered":"<em>In Behalf Of<\/em> vs. <em>On Behalf Of<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes in writing and speaking we arrive at a phrase that forms a fork in the road to expression. Ideally, we can distinguish one path from the other, even if by subtlety.<\/p>\n<p>Other forks pose a greater challenge. Each way looks the same, and the sounds from both are familiar. We pick our path and hope for the best, making our choice a 50-50 gamble.<\/p>\n<p>The prepositional phrases <em>in behalf of <\/em>and <em>on behalf of<\/em> often present us with such potential divergence. Thus we\u2014including reputable writers\u2014often use them interchangeably.<\/p>\n<p>A closer look, however, reveals that by definition the phrases are separated by nuance. Careful, articulate writers make mental note of the difference and reinforce proper usage with practice. Soon enough, they apply it with correct, reflexive instinct.<\/p>\n<p><em>In behalf of<\/em> means \u201cfor the benefit, advantage, or interest of\u201d in acting as an agent, friend, or benefactor. Another way to think of it is \u201cas helping\u201d someone or something.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Examples:<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nThe foundation raised more than $250,000 <em>in behalf of<\/em> refugees of foreign wars.<br \/>\nThe city council opened a new food pantry <em>in behalf of<\/em> the city\u2019s underserved residents.<br \/>\nMrs. Brown offers much <em>in behalf of <\/em>her students to help them receive scholarships.<\/p>\n<p><em>On behalf of<\/em> means \u201cas the agent of,\u201d \u201cin place of,\u201d or \u201con the part of.\u201d Another way to think of it is \u201cas representing\u201d someone or something.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Examples:<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nThe law firm filed a suit <em>on behalf of<\/em> the three people injured by the company truck.<br \/>\n<em>On behalf of<\/em> all who couldn\u2019t be here <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1882453520\"><span class=\"aQJ\">tonight<\/span><\/span>, I want to say thank you for your support.<br \/>\nKaren has power of attorney, so she can sign the documents <em>on behalf of <\/em>her father.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of both phrases in the same sentence: \u201c<em>On behalf of <\/em>the VFW, the commander will help finance the event after he knows how the funds will be used <em>in behalf of<\/em> the deceased veterans\u2019 families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This should help you make the right choice of phrasal \u201cbehalf.\u201d Simply reflect on intent (help or representation), pick your path, and move forth with extra confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes in writing and speaking we arrive at a phrase that forms a fork in the road to expression. Ideally, we can distinguish one path from the other, even if by subtlety. Other forks pose a greater challenge. Each way looks the same, and the sounds from both are familiar. We pick our path and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-prepositions"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}