Prepositions: do I use "for" or "to"?

Question

!. Oily food is bad for you.

OR

2. Oily food is bad to you.

Does anybody have a reference to the rules (if any) around this kind of use of to/for?

Answer 1

Things that you eat or do are bad for you

eg.   Smoking is bad for you.

Trans-fats are bad for you.

People are bad to you

Arnold is bad to me.  He says nasty things about my appearance and slaps me.

Answer 2

Try buying a copy of Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" - that's a good reference.

Oily food is bad for you.

If oily food were bad to you, it would mean that the food is being mean and insulting to you.

Answer 3

in this instance..

FOR: with the object or purpose of (to run for exercise).

TO: used for indicating the indirect object of a verb, for connecting a verb with its complement, or for indicating or limiting the application of an adjective, noun, or pronoun (Give it to me. I refer to your work.)

Answer 4

the correct sentence is "Oily food is bad for you"

Answer 5

For.

Answer 6

You would use "for".  I don't know of the specific rule, if any.  But it's simply the proper word.  Whenever anything is bad for you, you don't usually say, bad to you.