Provide for vs. Provide with

How to use "provide for" and "provide with" correctly

This is an entry on my list of Common Errors in English Usage. Visit the main page for direct links to additional entries.

The expressions provide for and provide with essentially work in reverse. You provide (something) for someone or something:

provided food for her family

provided supplies for the school

provided for the child’s needs

be sure to provide for any emergency that might occur

You provide someone or something with something:

provided her family with food

provided the school with supplies

Common Errors in English Usage: Errors in diction and idiom commonly made by native speakers of English

List of Common Errors in English Usage (PDF): Printable version of the complete list

Common Grammar Errors: A list of common errors in grammar (topics like subject-verb agreement and parallelism) as distinct from usage