Sign In Get Started
Prepositions after verbs

cooperate with, in, on, along or at?

Cooperate is most commonly followed by with for people or groups. In and on can introduce activities or projects. Along and at are generally not standard complements after cooperate.

Quick answer

Which prepositions go with cooperate?

Use cooperate with someone to mean work together. Use cooperate on a project or cooperate in an activity when referring to shared work or participation. Cooperate along and cooperate at are not standard verb-preposition combinations.

The two companies agreed to cooperate with each other.
Researchers from several countries cooperate on climate studies.
All departments must cooperate in the investigation.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
cooperate with + person/group

Working together with others

Use with to name the person, team, organisation, or country involved in cooperation.

We regularly cooperate with local charities.
The agency refused to cooperate with investigators.
2
cooperate on + project/task

Working together on a specific activity

Use on for projects, plans, reports, and other focused tasks.

Several studios cooperate on the film production.
The teams are cooperate on a joint proposal.
3
cooperate in + activity/process

Taking part in a process or effort

Use in when referring to participation in a broader activity, process, or investigation.

Witnesses agreed to cooperate in the inquiry.
Schools often cooperate in community programmes.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
cooperate with
The police cooperated with international agencies.
Standard choice for working together with people or organisations.
cooperate on
The engineers cooperated on the bridge design.
Used for collaboration on a task or project.
cooperate in
Everyone must cooperate in the safety review.
Used for participation in an activity or process.
cooperate along
They worked together along the border.
Along is not a normal complement after cooperate. Here along describes location, not the verb pattern.
cooperate at
They cooperated at the conference.
At usually introduces a place or event, not a fixed combination with cooperate.

Common mistakes

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

Using along as a fixed preposition after cooperate

Along does not normally follow cooperate as part of the verb pattern.

✕ The teams cooperated along the project. ✓ The teams cooperated on the project.

Using at for collaboration partners

Use with for people or organisations you work together with.

✕ She cooperated at the committee. ✓ She cooperated with the committee.

Confusing on and in

Use on for specific projects and in for participation in broader activities.

✕ They cooperated in a new app design. ✓ They cooperated on a new app design.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Several universities cooperated ___ the research project.
2. The company refused to cooperate ___ the inspectors.
3. Citizens were asked to cooperate ___ the investigation.

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 cooperate with the most common pattern?

Yes. Cooperate with is the standard way to describe working together with someone.

Can I say cooperate on a project?

Yes. Cooperate on is natural for shared tasks, plans, and projects.

Is cooperate along correct?

Not as a normal verb-preposition pattern. Along may describe place separately, but it does not usually follow cooperate directly.

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