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Prepositions after adjectives

Noble with prepositions

Noble of and noble in are both correct but used differently.

Quick answer

Noble of or noble in?

Use noble of when praising a person's action. Use noble in when describing character or behaviour in a particular area.

It was noble of her to forgive him.
He was noble in defeat.
They remained noble in their conduct.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
noble of + person + infinitive

Praising an action

Use noble of to judge a person's behaviour positively.

It was noble of him to donate anonymously.
2
noble in + area

Describing quality in behaviour

Use noble in with conduct, spirit, or actions.

She was noble in her response.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
noble of
It was noble of them to help.
praising a specific action
noble in
He was noble in adversity.
showing noble qualities in a situation
noble toward
She was noble toward her opponents.
toward introduces direction of behaviour

Common mistakes

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

Using noble of with nouns only

Noble of usually appears with an infinitive clause.

✕ He was noble of the decision. ✓ It was noble of him to make that decision.

Confusing of and in

Of praises an action; in describes behaviour within a context.

✕ She was noble of difficult times. ✓ She was noble in difficult times.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. It was noble ___ her to speak honestly.
2. He remained noble ___ defeat.
3. They acted nobly ___ their rivals.

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Frequently asked questions

Is noble of correct?

Yes. It is common when praising a person's action.

What does noble in mean?

It describes noble qualities in behaviour or character.

Can both patterns be used in one sentence?

Yes, if they express different meanings.

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"? negligent in, of, for, to or about? nervous about, of, at, in or before?

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