forgive someone for lying

Meaning

This phrase means to stop feeling angry or resentful toward a person who told an untruth or deceived you. It is used in personal relationships, friendships, and family discussions when dealing with trust issues. The tone is emotionally significant but neutral.

Examples

• It took me a long time to forgive him for lying about where he went.

  It took me a long time to forgive him for lying about where he went.

• She wonders if she can ever forgive her best friend for lying to her.

  She wonders if she can ever forgive her best friend for lying to her.

• It is hard to forgive someone for lying when they do it repeatedly.

  It is hard to forgive someone for lying when they do it repeatedly.

• I wanted to forgive her for lying, but the trust was completely broken.

  I wanted to forgive her for lying, but the trust was completely broken.

• He apologized sincerely, hoping she would forgive him for lying.

  He apologized sincerely, hoping she would forgive him for lying.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I can't forgive him to lie.

  ✓ I can't forgive him for lying.

  The verb 'forgive' is followed by the preposition 'for' and a gerund (verb-ing), not an infinitive verb.

• ✗ She forgave her brother about lying.

  ✓ She forgave her brother for lying.

  'Forgive someone FOR doing something' is the correct and natural prepositional pattern in English.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Even though it hurts when a friend is dishonest, it is sometimes healthier to ___ so you can move on.

  💡 A variation of the expression using the pronoun 'them'.

  Show answer

  forgive them for lying

• It takes a lot of maturity to ___ because trust is very hard to rebuild.

  💡 The complete base phrase for pardoning a dishonest person.

  Show answer

  forgive someone for lying