Sign In Get Started
Prepositions after commend

commend for or commend by?

Commend means praise or formally recommend. Different structures are used depending on the meaning.

Quick answer

Is it commend for or commend by?

Use commend someone for something to express praise: commend her for her work. Commend by is not a standard fixed pattern after the verb commend. By may appear in passive sentences to show the person giving praise.

The manager commended her for her leadership.
He was commended by the review panel.
The report commended the team for its efficiency.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
commend someone for + reason

Praising someone

Use commend someone for something to explain why they are praised.

The school commended the students for their efforts.
2
commend + object

Formally praise or recommend

Commend can directly take an object.

Critics commended the film highly.
3
commended by + person

Showing who gave praise

In passive structures, by introduces the source of praise.

She was commended by senior officials.
4
commend someone to + person

Introducing or recommending

Commend to can mean recommend or entrust.

I commend him to your attention.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
commend for
They commended him for his honesty.
Standard pattern for praising someone because of something.
commend by
The scientist was commended by the committee.
By is natural in passive voice to show the source of praise.
commend to
I commend this book to all readers.
Recommend or present favourably.
commend as
The policy was commended as a success.
Describing the role or quality of something praised.

Common mistakes

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

Using commend by in active voice

Commend by is not normally used directly after the active verb.

✕ They commended by her courage. ✓ They commended her for her courage.

Leaving out the reason after commend for

For should introduce the reason or quality being praised.

✕ She was commended for. ✓ She was commended for her dedication.

Confusing commend with comment

Commend means praise. Comment means express an opinion.

✕ He commented her work. ✓ He commended her work.

Using commend to for praise

Commend to usually means recommend, not praise for an action.

✕ The teacher commended the student to hard work. ✓ The teacher commended the student for hard work.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The director commended the staff ___ their professionalism.
2. She was commended ___ the national committee.
3. I commend this article ___ anyone interested in history.

Check your sentence in context

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

Free to try · No signup required

Frequently asked questions

Is commend for correct?

Yes. Commend someone for something is the standard way to express praise.

Can I say commend by?

Usually only in passive voice, such as was commended by the committee.

What does commend to mean?

Commend to often means recommend or present something favourably to someone.

calculate, by, calculate, in, calculate, from "call for" or "call on"? "campaign for" or "campaign against"? cancel by, due, at, in or for? capitulate to, in, like, by or after? captivate by, for, with, from or in? "capture by" or "capture in"? "care about" or "care for"? carry with, by, in, to or into? carve into, out, in, on or with? cast in, into, for, by or on? "catch in", "catch by" or "catch on"?

Write with confidence in Linguix

Create a free account to check complete texts, apply suggestions, and save your documents.

Create a free account