Rules project
Today I heard a radio advertisement about getting an oil change. The statement was, "Get your oil changed for free." This has always been a pet peeve of mine which I forgot to mention earlier. I have always thought for free was not grammatical. The correct sentence would be "Get your oil changed free." For is omitted because free is an adjective or an adverb and therefore cannot be preceded by for. Nouns are preceded by for. This is according to http://wiki.answers.comIs_the_expression_for_free_incorrect_grammar
However, according to http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/for_free.htm for free is now considered grammatically correct and understood by most people. So this would be yet another example of language changing.
"free" is an adverb telling how the oil is changed, so you're right--it can't follow a preposition. Perhaps it would be clearer if it were "Get your oil changed free of charge."
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