Confused: Use of Important to and important for

Question

I have seen a sentence in book

Bacteria are important to human health

I have searched on stackexchange

And according to that answer -

To is used as : It is important to me

For is used as: It is important for my health.

So, as per above answer, it should be Bacteria are important for human health

There's a strong tendency to favour are important to* X* where *X* is some kind of "conscious entity" (such as *me, in that link), because in such contexts we can interpret the statement as meaning X thinks that something is important*..., — FumbleFingers, May 10 '19 at 12:51
...but if *X* is just an abstract concept such as *health*, as can be seen from that link, there's no significant tendency to prefer one preposition over the other, so your usage distinction isn't quite correct. — FumbleFingers, May 10 '19 at 12:53

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 10 '19 at 12:42

The cited answer does cover this, and you do answer your own question. "Importance" is a measure of value and therefore relative. It does not mean the same as, for example, "vital". "Important to me" means important from your perspective.

I feel your example is correct because bacteria are important from a human health perspective. They are not vital for life, but important to it.

Jan · Answer 2 · 2019-05-10T14:18:48.183

"Important to" suggests that something is important to someone as a value.

This house is important to me (It's more emotional, like "I feel this house is important to me" or "it means a lot to me").

"Important for" suggests that something is important for something or someone as a need.

This house is important for me...or for you..or for him (It's more rational, like "I understand that this house is important for someone's survival.")

Confused: Use of Important to and important for

2 Answers2