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Prepositions after adjectives

Negative with prepositions

Negative about is the most common pattern for opinions. Negative for appears in medical and testing contexts.

Quick answer

Which preposition follows negative?

Use negative about for opinions or attitudes. Use negative for in medical tests and similar results. Negative in usually refers to something lacking in a quality.

She is negative about the proposal.
The sample tested negative for the virus.
The report was negative in tone.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
negative about + topic

Expressing an unfavourable opinion

Use negative about when describing attitudes or reactions.

He feels negative about remote work.
2
negative for + condition

Medical or test results

Use negative for when a test does not detect something.

She tested negative for infection.
3
negative in + aspect

Describing a feature

Use negative in to describe an area or characteristic.

The article is negative in tone.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
negative about
They are negative about the merger.
having an unfavourable opinion
negative for
The patient tested negative for flu.
showing absence in a test
negative in
The review was negative in style.
negative within a certain aspect
negative on
She is negative on the idea.
less common alternative to negative about

Common mistakes

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

Using negative for opinions

For is usually not used for attitudes.

✕ He is negative for the plan. ✓ He is negative about the plan.

Confusing medical and opinion uses

Negative for is mainly used with tests and diagnoses.

✕ The manager is negative for the new policy. ✓ The manager is negative about the new policy.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. She is negative ___ the suggestion.
2. The athlete tested negative ___ banned substances.
3. The speech was negative ___ tone.

Check your sentence in context

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

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Frequently asked questions

Is negative about common?

Yes. It is the standard pattern for attitudes and opinions.

What does negative for mean?

It usually refers to a medical or scientific test result showing absence.

Can I say negative in attitude?

Yes. Negative in can describe a particular aspect or quality.

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"? "native of" or "native to"? "natural for" or "natural to"? necessary for, in, to, at or by? needy in, of, for, from or by? 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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