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Prepositions after adjectives

Profitable for or profitable in?

Use profitable for to show benefit to someone or something. Profitable in is uncommon after the adjective and usually appears in other sentence structures.

Quick answer

Which preposition fits with profitable?

Profitable for is the standard adjective pattern when something brings financial gain or benefit to a person, company, or activity. Profitable in is not normally used directly after profitable as its complement.

The investment was profitable for the company.
Tourism is profitable for local businesses.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
profitable for + person or business

Who benefits financially

Use for to show who gains from something.

The merger was profitable for shareholders.
2
profitable for + activity

Benefit or value of an activity

For can also introduce an activity or purpose.

The app proved profitable for small retailers.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
profitable for
The deal was profitable for both partners.
Standard pattern showing benefit or financial gain.
profitable in
The company was profitable in Asia last year.
Here in Asia is a place adjunct, not the adjective's complement.
profit from
They profit from online sales.
Verb pattern used instead of profitable in.

Common mistakes

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

Treating in as the normal complement

Profitable usually takes for when linked to a beneficiary.

✕ The project was profitable in the investors. ✓ The project was profitable for the investors.

Confusing adjective and verb patterns

Use profit from with the verb profit.

✕ They were profitable from exports. ✓ They profited from exports.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The campaign was profitable ___ the company.
2. The business was profitable ___ Europe.
3. Investors hope to profit ___ renewable energy.

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Frequently asked questions

Is profitable in correct?

It can appear when in introduces a place or field, as in profitable in Asia, but it is not the usual complement after profitable.

What preposition usually follows profitable?

The most common adjective pattern is profitable for.

Can profitable describe non-financial benefit?

Yes. It can also mean useful or advantageous, especially in formal contexts.

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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