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Prepositions after verbs

Blight by, with, for, from or through

Blight is most often used in passive forms such as blighted by poverty or crops blighted by disease. Other prepositions usually express separate ideas such as cause, source, or method.

Quick answer

Use blighted by for causes of damage

The usual pattern is blighted by plus the damaging thing: a town blighted by unemployment. Blight with is uncommon as a fixed pattern. From and through may appear with separate meanings in a sentence.

The area was blighted by industrial pollution.
His career was blighted by injury.
The crops were blighted by disease.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
blighted by + cause

Showing what causes harm or decline

Use by to identify the thing causing damage, decay, or failure.

The neighbourhood was blighted by crime.
Their plans were blighted by financial problems.
2
blight + object

Using blight with a direct object

Blight can directly take the thing affected.

Drought blighted the harvest.
The scandal blighted his reputation.
3
blight from + source

Describing the origin of damage

From can introduce the source of harm, but it is not a fixed pattern after blight.

The leaves suffered damage from blight during the wet season.
Farmers lost crops from blight last year.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
blighted by
The city was blighted by corruption.
standard pattern naming the cause of harm
blight with
The disease blighted the trees with dark spots.
with can introduce a resulting feature, not a common fixed combination
blight for
The policy was criticised for creating long-term urban blight.
for does not normally follow blight as a fixed verb-preposition pattern
blight from
Several vines died from blight.
from can express source or cause in the wider sentence
blight through
The infection spread through the crop.
through usually describes movement or extent, not a fixed pattern after blight

Common mistakes

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

Using for after blight

Blight is not normally followed by for.

✕ The town was blighted for poverty. ✓ The town was blighted by poverty.

Using with as the main cause pattern

Use by for the cause of damage or decline.

✕ The region was blighted with unemployment. ✓ The region was blighted by unemployment.

Confusing from blight and blighted by

From blight refers to the source of damage, while blighted by names the cause directly.

✕ The crops were from blight. ✓ The crops were blighted by blight.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The forest was blighted ___ disease.
2. The scandal blighted ___ career.
3. Farmers suffered losses ___ blight.

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Frequently asked questions

Is blighted by the standard pattern?

Yes. It is the usual way to name the cause of damage or decline.

Can I say blighted with?

Sometimes, but it is less natural for causes. It may describe a visible effect or feature rather than the main cause.

Does blight always need a preposition?

No. Blight can directly take an object, such as blight the landscape.

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