therefor vs. therefore

therefor vs. therefore: What's the difference?

Therefor and therefore are not alternate spellings—they are different words with different meanings. Therefore is far more common—it means “as a result” or “for this reason” and is used in statements involving reasoning or cause and effect, as in Your offer is very generous; therefore, we accept. The rarely used therefor means “for it” or “in exchange for the thing just stated,” as in When I do a job, I expect fair compensation therefor.