Meaning & use
be thankful for
Last updated
Meaning
phraselinking
To feel grateful for something or someone; to be glad that something exists or happened.
Grammar: Followed by 'for' + noun or -ing form: I am thankful for your help.
Patterns
- be thankful for something
- be thankful for doing something
- be thankful to someone for something
I am thankful for my family and friends.
We should be thankful for the good weather today.
She was thankful for the extra time to prepare.
Common combinations
- be thankful for small mercies
- The train was late, but we were thankful for small mercies—it arrived eventually.
- be thankful for what you have
- At Thanksgiving, we remember to be thankful for what we have.
- be thankful to someone for something
- I am thankful to my teacher for her support.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grateful
- Very similar, but 'grateful' is more common in everyday speech and can be used with 'to' and 'for'. 'Thankful' often sounds a little more emotional or formal.
- appreciative
- Focuses on recognizing the value of something; 'thankful' focuses on the feeling of gratitude.
Opposites
Word family
- thankfulness noun
- The feeling of being thankful.
- thankfully adverb
- In a thankful way, or used to mean 'fortunately'.
Commonly confused: be thankful for or grateful?
be thankful for vs grateful
Often interchangeable, but 'grateful' is more common in everyday conversation. 'Thankful' can sound slightly more formal or emotional.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'be thankful for' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'for': thankful for something. Option B uses 'to' incorrectly for a thing, and options C and D use wrong prepositions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “be thankful for”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.