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Prepositions after verbs

Confront with or confront by?

Use confront someone with something for presenting a difficult fact or accusation. By usually appears only in passive structures such as be confronted by danger.

Quick answer

Which preposition is correct after confront?

The common active pattern is confront someone with something. In passive sentences, by can introduce the thing or person causing the confrontation.

The journalist confronted the minister with the leaked documents.
Residents were confronted by rising costs.
She confronted him with the evidence.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
confront someone with + issue

Presenting evidence or a problem

Use with to introduce the issue, accusation, or difficult fact.

Police confronted the suspect with new evidence.
The editor confronted the writer with the complaints.
2
be confronted by + danger/person

Describing what someone faces

In passive voice, by introduces the thing or person creating the challenge.

The team was confronted by unexpected delays.
Travellers were confronted by heavy snow.
3
confront + problem

Facing a difficult situation directly

Confront can take a direct object without a preposition.

We must confront the problem immediately.
She finally confronted her fears.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
confront someone with something
She confronted him with the facts.
Standard active pattern for presenting evidence or accusations.
be confronted by something
The city was confronted by severe flooding.
Passive structure showing what someone faces.
confront by
They confronted by criticism.
Incorrect without a passive auxiliary verb such as were.
confront something
He confronted the issue directly.
Direct-object pattern without a preposition.

Common mistakes

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

Using confront by in active voice

By normally appears in passive constructions.

✕ She confronted by her manager. ✓ She was confronted by her manager.

Omitting with before evidence

Use with before the thing presented to someone.

✕ They confronted him the documents. ✓ They confronted him with the documents.

Adding unnecessary prepositions

Confront can directly take a problem or fear as its object.

✕ We confronted with the problem. ✓ We confronted the problem.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The lawyer confronted the witness ___ the recording.
2. Residents were confronted ___ rising prices.
3. We must confront ___ issue before launch.

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Frequently asked questions

Is confront with always correct?

Use confront someone with something. Do not use with when confront directly takes the problem as its object.

Can I say confront by?

Only in passive structures such as was confronted by danger.

What is the difference between confront and face?

Both can mean deal with a problem directly, but confront often suggests a more deliberate or forceful action.

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"?

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