He fell over himself to be/for being

Question

Do these sentences have the same meaning? If they haven't, please explain why.

He fell over himself to be as helpful as possible.

He fell over himself for being as helpful as possible.

Greybeard · Answer

He fell over himself to be as helpful as possible. = He fell over himself in order to be as helpful as possible.

He fell over himself for being as helpful as possible. = He fell over himself because he had been as helpful as possible.

The second one does not make a lot of sense.

One Answer