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Prepositions after adjectives

Native of or native to?

Use native of for a person's place of origin. Use native to for species, plants, languages, customs, or things naturally belonging to a place.

Quick answer

When do we use native of and native to?

Native of usually refers to a person born in a place. Native to describes something naturally belonging to a place or environment.

She is a native of Mumbai.
This bird is native to South America.
The expression is native to the region.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
native of + place

Describing where a person comes from

Use native of for a person's birthplace or home region.

He is a native of Seoul.
As a native of the island, she knows the traditions well.
2
native to + place

Describing natural origin or connection

Use native to for plants, animals, languages, customs, or objects naturally associated with a place.

Koalas are native to Australia.
That style of music is native to the area.
3
native speaker of + language

Talking about first languages

Native is often used in the expression native speaker of.

She is a native speaker of Arabic.
They hired a native speaker of English.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
native of
He is a native of Dublin.
person originally from a place
native to
The plant is native to Mexico.
naturally belonging to a place
native speaker of
She is a native speaker of Korean.
someone who learned a language from childhood
born in
He was born in Nairobi.
common alternative for place of birth

Common mistakes

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

Using native to for a person's hometown

For people, native of is usually more natural.

✕ She is native to Rome. ✓ She is a native of Rome.

Using native of for animals or plants

Use native to for species and natural environments.

✕ This tree is native of Canada. ✓ This tree is native to Canada.

Forgetting the article with native of

Native as a noun commonly takes an article.

✓ He is a native of Lisbon.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The panda is native ___ China.
2. She is a native ___ Athens.
3. He is a native speaker ___ Spanish.

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Frequently asked questions

Can native to describe people?

It appears sometimes, especially in American English, but native of is more traditional and clearer for birthplace.

Do we use native to for languages?

Yes. A language, expression, or custom can be native to a region.

What is a native speaker?

A native speaker is someone who learned a language naturally from early childhood.

naive-in-about-to-of, for naked in, on, with, for or at? "narrow down" or "narrow in"? "nasty to", "nasty in" or "nasty about"? "national of" or "national in"? "natural for" or "natural to"? necessary for, in, to, at or by? needy in, of, for, from or by? "negative about", "negative in" or "negative for"? negligent in, of, for, to or about? nervous about, of, at, in or before? "neutral in", "neutral to" or "neutral on"?

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