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Prepositions after verbs

Designate as vs designate by

Designate as is the standard pattern for assigning a role, label, or status. Designate by is not normally used with this meaning.

Quick answer

Which form should you use?

Use designate as when assigning a title, role, or category. Designate by is usually incorrect for this meaning, although by can appear separately to describe a method or criterion.

The city was designated as a protected area.
She was designated as team leader.
Plants are identified by their leaf shape.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
designate as + role/status

Assigning a title or category

Use designate as to state what someone or something is officially called or classified as.

The building was designated as a historic monument.
He was designated as the project coordinator.
2
designate + object

Using designate without a preposition

Designate can take a direct object followed by a complement.

They designated the room a quiet area.
The committee designated her chairperson.
3
by + method or criterion

Adding information about method

By may appear separately to explain how something is identified or organised, but not as the main pattern after designate.

Files are sorted by date.
The species are grouped by region.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
designate as
The park was designated as a wildlife reserve.
Officially assign a status or category.
designate by
Nonstandard: They designated him by manager.
Not idiomatic for assigning roles or titles.
designate someone something
They designated Maria director.
Alternative structure without as.

Common mistakes

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

Using by instead of as

Use designate as for official roles or classifications.

✕ She was designated by spokesperson. ✓ She was designated as spokesperson.

Adding unnecessary as after object complement

After designate plus object, you can use either as or no preposition, but avoid mixing structures incorrectly.

✕ They designated him as to leader. ✓ They designated him as leader.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The area was designated ___ a national park.
2. They designated Lee ___ head of research.
3. Which sentence is standard English? ___

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Frequently asked questions

Can designate be used without as?

Yes. English also allows structures such as They designated her chairperson.

Is designate by ever correct?

Not for assigning roles or status. By may appear separately to express method or classification.

What kinds of nouns follow designate as?

Titles, functions, legal categories, and official statuses commonly follow designate as.

dabble, in, dabble, with "damage to" or "damage by"? dance to, with, on, in or for? "dangle from" or "dangle in"? dare to, for, on, as or at? dash to, into, out, from or on? daydream about, for, in, of or on? "debate in", "debate on" or "debate with"? deceive by, in, into, on or about? "decide on", "decide to" or "decide by"? declare in, by, on, to or as? decline in, by, from, to or for?

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