Sign In Get Started
Prepositions after verbs

Encourage by, in, for, through, or about?

Encourage is commonly used with objects and infinitives, but several prepositions can appear depending on the meaning and sentence structure.

Quick answer

How is encourage used with prepositions?

Encourage usually takes a direct object: encourage students. Encourage in and encourage to are common for activities and actions. By and through often describe the method of encouragement. About can describe the topic someone feels positive about.

Teachers encourage students to read daily.
Parents should encourage children in creative activities.
The coach encouraged the team through regular feedback.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
encourage + person + to + verb

Motivating someone to act

This is the most common structure with encourage.

They encouraged her to apply for the job.
The program encourages people to recycle.
2
encourage in + activity

Supporting participation or development

Use encourage in with fields, activities, or areas of development.

Parents should encourage children in sports.
The school encourages students in creative thinking.
3
encourage by + method

Showing how encouragement happens

By introduces the means or method used to encourage someone.

The company encourages employees by offering bonuses.
She encouraged the class by praising their progress.
4
encourage through + process

Describing support through a channel or system

Through introduces a process, programme, or medium.

The charity encourages learning through community projects.
Managers encourage teamwork through regular workshops.
5
encourage about + topic

Talking about feelings regarding a topic

Encourage about is uncommon directly after the verb. More natural choices are encourage someone about something or feel encouraged about something.

The news encouraged investors about the market outlook.
Her teacher encouraged her about the interview.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
encourage by
They encouraged staff by giving public recognition.
shows the method used
encourage in
She encouraged him in his studies.
shows an area or activity
encourage for
They encouraged support for the proposal.
for introduces the thing receiving support, not a common direct pattern after encourage someone
encourage through
The school encourages creativity through art.
shows the channel or process
encourage about
The results encouraged us about the future.
about introduces the topic causing positive feelings

Common mistakes

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

Using for instead of to

Encourage someone to do something is the standard pattern.

✕ They encouraged him for apply. ✓ They encouraged him to apply.

Using encourage with without context

With is not a standard pattern directly after encourage in this meaning.

✕ She encouraged with kind words. ✓ She encouraged the team with kind words.

Confusing by and through

By focuses on a specific method. Through focuses on a process or medium.

✕ The coach encouraged players by regular training sessions over months. ✓ The coach encouraged players through regular training sessions over months.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The teacher encouraged students ___ participate.
2. Parents should encourage children ___ music.
3. The company encouraged teamwork ___ weekly workshops.

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

What is the most common structure with encourage?

Encourage someone to do something is the standard and most widely used structure.

Can I use encourage by?

Yes. By introduces the method used to encourage someone.

Is encourage about natural English?

It is possible in some contexts, but it is less common than structures with to, in, or through.

earmark-for-by-as-about, at "earn from", "earn by" or "earn in"? "ease into", "ease by" or "ease in"? "eat at", "eat with" or "eat in"? "echo in" or "echo by"? edit by, for, in, to or from? "educate in" or "educate at"? eject from, at, in, into or by? elaborate on, in, upon, by or about? "elect to" or "elect by"? elevate to, in, above, by or as? "eliminate from", "eliminate in" or "eliminate by"?

Write with confidence in Linguix

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

Create a free account