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Preposition after adjective

Commonplace in or commonplace for?

Commonplace is normally followed by in when something is ordinary within a place, field, or situation. Commonplace for is uncommon and usually avoided.

Quick answer

Which preposition is correct after commonplace?

Use commonplace in to describe something ordinary or widely seen within a context. Commonplace for is not a standard combination in current English.

Cashless payments are commonplace in many countries.
Video calls became commonplace in office work.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
commonplace in + place

Ordinary within a place

Use in for something widely seen in a location or environment.

commonplace in modern cities
Such delays are commonplace in public transport
2
commonplace in + field/activity

Normal within a field or activity

Use in for professional, academic, or social contexts.

AI tools are now commonplace in education
Technical jargon is commonplace in legal writing

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
commonplace in
Online banking is commonplace in daily life.
Ordinary or widely accepted within a context.
commonplace for
Commonplace for is rarely used in standard English.
Usually avoided as a fixed adjective-preposition combination.
common among
That attitude is common among managers.
Use common among instead when talking about groups of people.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using commonplace for as a standard pattern

Commonplace normally takes in, not for.

✕ This habit is commonplace for teenagers. ✓ This habit is commonplace among teenagers.

Confusing commonplace with common

Commonplace means very ordinary or unsurprising.

✕ Rain is commonplace for April. ✓ Rain is common in April.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Electric cars are becoming ___ major cities.
2. Which phrase is generally nonstandard?
3. Technical abbreviations are ___ engineering.

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Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

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Frequently asked questions

Is commonplace for ever correct?

It is very uncommon as a fixed adjective-preposition pattern. Most writers use commonplace in or another structure.

What does commonplace mean?

It means ordinary, unsurprising, or frequently seen.

Can I use commonplace among people?

Usually common among sounds more natural than commonplace among.

calm, in, calm, for, calm, about "candid about" or "candid in"? capable of or in? careful about, with, of, in or on? careless about, with, in, of or on? caribbean in, for, with, to or on? "catastrophic for" or "catastrophic to"? "cautious about" or "cautious in"? celtic in, for, on, at or to? central to, in, for, at or of? "certain of" or "certain about"? "challenging for" or "challenging of"?

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