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Preposition after adjective

pregnant with and other prepositions

Pregnant with is the standard expression for carrying a baby or containing strong meaning. Other prepositions usually belong to the wider sentence.

Quick answer

Which combination is standard?

Use pregnant with for pregnancy or figurative meaning. Pregnant by is also common for identifying the father. Pregnant at, in, and for usually introduce time, place, or purpose rather than completing the adjective.

She is pregnant with twins.
The silence was pregnant with tension.
She became pregnant by her former partner.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
pregnant with + baby/idea

Carrying or full of something

With is the standard complement.

The novel is pregnant with symbolism.
2
pregnant by + father

Identifying the father

By names the person responsible for the pregnancy.

She was pregnant by her boyfriend.
3
pregnant at/in + time/place

Time or place adjuncts

At and in usually add context rather than complete the adjective.

She was pregnant at the time of the interview.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
pregnant with
She is pregnant with her first child.
expecting a baby or full of meaning
pregnant by
She became pregnant by her ex-partner.
identifying the father
pregnant at
She was pregnant at twenty.
at introduces age or time
pregnant in
She was pregnant in 2024.
in introduces a time period
pregnant for
They planned carefully for pregnancy.
for is not a standard complement after pregnant

Common mistakes

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

Using for as the complement

Pregnant does not normally take for directly.

✕ She is pregnant for her husband. ✓ She is pregnant with her husband's child.

Confusing with and by

With refers to the baby; by refers to the father.

✕ She is pregnant by twins. ✓ She is pregnant with twins.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. She is pregnant ___ her second child.
2. She became pregnant ___ her boyfriend.
3. She was pregnant ___ the summer of 2025.

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Frequently asked questions

Is pregnant with the normal expression?

Yes. It is the standard pattern for pregnancy and figurative meanings.

What does pregnant by mean?

It identifies the father of the baby.

Can pregnant be used figuratively?

Yes. Pregnant with can mean full of meaning, emotion, or possibility.

packed-with-to-in-on, into "paid for" or "paid up"? painful for, to, in, at or of? "palatable to" or "palatable for"? "pale in" or "pale of"? "pandemic of" or "pandemic in"? "paramount to" or "paramount in"? paranoid about, of, in, with or over? partial to, of, in, towards or for? participating in, of, on, at or for? "particular about" or "particular to"? part-time at, in, for, as or with?

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