Treat someone to....

Question

Takkie Ichy in Japan asked, "Is the sentence, 'I'll treat you for ice cream,' acceptable?"

Answer

No. The correct way to say this is with to, as in, “I’ll treat you to ice cream.”

The verb treat can have a lot of different meanings. However, the construction treat + someone + to usually means to pay for someone else’s food, drink, or entertainment.

When people say, "I'll treat you to...," they are making a friendly gesture. Usually they are offering to pay for something, but they may be offering something that doesn't require spending money.

Below are some example sentences with treat + someone + to:

• I'll treat you to lunch.
• Let's go to the movies. I'll treat everybody.
• I'll treat you to a new coffee pot.
• John and Marta treated us to a delightful evening at their home.
• The band treated their fans to a new song.

I hope this helps.