- He went to London for work.
- He went to London to work.
Are the above sentences acceptable?
Yes.
yaa… this is so good. thanks
They have slightly different meanings, however. Last week, I went to Denver for work. That means that my job required that I go there. I went there for the purpose of work, not pleasure. It implies a transitory time there.
Have you ever been to London? Yes, but only for work. I didn’t get to do any sight-seeing.
If you go somewhere “to” work, it sounds as though your job is now there.
But you can also say:
A: I’ll be in London next week, so we can’t meet up as usual.
B: Oh, London. I’m jealous. So much to see there.
A: Ah, I wish I had the time for sightseeing. It’s a conference. I’m going to work, not to enjoy myself.
That’s not how I’d say it in American English. While I can imagine someone saying “I went to work not to have fun” I’d be much more likely to say “I went there for work, not fun.”