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Prepositions after verbs

bore by, to, with, in or out?

Bore with is the standard pattern for making someone feel uninterested. Bore into and bore out have different meanings. Bore by and bore to are generally not standard combinations for this verb.

Quick answer

Which preposition goes with bore?

Use bore with when someone becomes tired of something. Bore into means drill or cut into something. Bore out means confirm or support. Bore by and bore to are not standard combinations for this meaning of bore.

The long speech bored me with repeated details.
Workers bored into the rock wall.
The results bore out her theory.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
bore with + thing

Making someone feel uninterested

Bore with introduces the thing causing boredom.

He bored us with endless stories.
The lecture bored students with too much detail.
2
bore into + material

Drilling or cutting into something

Bore into is used for making a deep hole or opening.

The machine bored into the concrete.
Engineers bored into the mountain.
3
bore out + idea/claim

Confirming or supporting something

Bore out means show that something is true.

The evidence bore out his explanation.
Recent studies bore out the earlier findings.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
bore with
She bored the audience with long statistics.
make someone feel uninterested because of something
bore into
The drill bored into the wall.
make a deep hole in something
bore out
The data bore out the prediction.
confirm that something is true
bore by
The speech bored me by repeating the same point.
by introduces the method or cause, not a fixed verb-preposition pattern
bore to
The story bored him to tears.
to is part of the result expression to tears, not a fixed pattern with bore

Common mistakes

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

Treating bore by as a fixed combination

By can introduce a method, but bore by is not a standard verb-preposition pattern.

✕ The teacher bored by grammar exercises. ✓ The teacher bored the class with grammar exercises.

Using bore to as a regular pattern

Bore to only appears in expressions such as bore someone to tears.

✕ The film bored to the audience. ✓ The film bored the audience.

Confusing bore out with bore into

Bore out means confirm; bore into means drill into something.

✕ The report bored into her theory. ✓ The report bore out her theory.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The comedian ___ the crowd with the same jokes.
2. The tunnel project will ___ the hillside.
3. The new evidence ___ the original claim.

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Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

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Frequently asked questions

Is bore with correct?

Yes. Bore someone with something is a common and standard structure.

What does bore out mean?

It means confirm or show that something is true.

Can I say bore by?

Not as a standard verb-preposition pattern. By may introduce a method, but it is separate from the verb.

back-by-away-out-in, up backfire on, in, as, at or with? backtrack on, to, in, after or by? "baffle by" or "baffle as"? "bake in" or "bake for"? balance by, in, on, with or between? ban from, in, for, by or on? "bang on" or "bang for"? "banish from" or "banish to"? baptize in, by, into, with or on? "bargain for" or "bargain with"? "bark at" or "bark in"?

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