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Prepositions after adjectives

Negligent with prepositions

Negligent in and negligent about are standard. Other combinations are limited or nonstandard.

Quick answer

Which prepositions go with negligent?

Use negligent in for duties or activities, and negligent about for areas that receive too little attention. Negligent of is rare and formal. Negligent for and negligent to are generally not idiomatic.

The company was negligent in maintaining safety standards.
He is negligent about his finances.
The officials were negligent of their responsibilities.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
negligent in + activity

Failure in duties or actions

Use negligent in with tasks, responsibilities, or conduct.

The landlord was negligent in repairing the building.
2
negligent about + subject

Carelessness about something

Use negligent about when someone does not pay enough attention to something.

She is negligent about security checks.
3
negligent of + duty

Formal legal style

Negligent of appears mainly in formal or legal English.

The board was negligent of its obligations.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
negligent in
They were negligent in handling the complaint.
careless in performing an action
negligent about
He is negligent about deadlines.
not attentive to something
negligent of
The agency was negligent of public safety.
formal expression of neglect
negligent for
The driver was punished for negligent driving.
for usually belongs to another structure, not negligent + for
negligent to
She was negligent to answer the emails.
not idiomatic current English

Common mistakes

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

Using negligent to

To does not normally follow negligent directly.

✕ He was negligent to lock the door. ✓ He was negligent in locking the door.

Using negligent for

For usually introduces a reason or offence, not a complement after negligent.

✕ She is negligent for her duties. ✓ She is negligent in her duties.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The mechanic was negligent ___ checking the brakes.
2. He is negligent ___ his health.
3. The board was negligent ___ its responsibilities.

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Frequently asked questions

Is negligent in correct?

Yes. It is the most common pattern with actions and duties.

Can I use negligent about?

Yes. It describes carelessness regarding a subject or responsibility.

Is negligent to grammatical?

It is generally considered nonstandard in modern English.

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? "negative about", "negative in" or "negative for"? nervous about, of, at, in or before? "neutral in", "neutral to" or "neutral on"?

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