8.7 For + -ing participle vs. infinitive of purpose

Rule: For + -ing participle expresses purpose only in general sense. The infinitive is used when the purpose is specific.

Examples of errors:

1. Industrialization also meant that capitalists built factories for making a profit-.
2. I will study in England for improving my pronunciation.
3. I went to the city for shopping and looking for new boots.
4. I want you to find him and for doing that you need a description.
5. If he were forced to earn money for living he could do almost anything.
6. Since we acquire our first language by learning how to behave in situations, it is, for learning a second language probably the same.

For + -ing participle clauses expressing purpose seem to be limited to statements of general purpose, as in

Knives are for cutting things.
I need my glasses only for reading.

When the purpose is a specific one, only the infinitive is allowed:

I used the knife this morning *for cutting/(in order) to cut the bread.
I need my glasses *for reading/(in order) to read this small print.

For living in (5) may have been confused with the idiom to do X for_a living, where living is not a participle but a noun. In (6) there may have been some confusion with as for in sentences like

As for learning a second language, I don't have time for that.

This construction always occurs initially in the clause, though, and is anaphoric--i.e. must refer to something (here, to learning a second language) previously mentioned.