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Prepositions after verbs

Impute to

Impute is normally followed by to when assigning blame, motives, or responsibility.

Quick answer

Which preposition follows impute?

The standard pattern is impute something to someone or something. Combinations such as impute against, impute before, impute by, and impute into are generally nonstandard.

They imputed the error to poor planning.
The critic imputed selfish motives to the minister.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
impute something to + person

Assigning responsibility or blame

Use to for the person or group receiving the accusation or attribution.

The court refused to impute negligence to the doctor.
2
impute + motive to + person

Attributing motives or intentions

This pattern is common in formal and legal English.

She imputed bad faith to her rivals.
3
impute to + cause

Connecting a result with a cause

To can also introduce a cause or source.

Many failures were imputed to lack of training.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
impute to
They imputed the loss to weak management.
standard pattern meaning assign responsibility or cause
impute against
The phrase impute against someone is not standard.
generally incorrect as a verb-preposition combination
impute before
Impute before the committee is not idiomatic English.
not a standard combination
impute by
The damage was caused by negligence, not imputed by negligence.
by is not normally selected by impute
impute into
Impute into the report is nonstandard.
into is not idiomatic with impute

Common mistakes

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

Using against after impute

Use to when assigning blame or motives.

✕ They imputed fraud against him. ✓ They imputed fraud to him.

Using by as the main preposition

Impute does not normally take by directly.

✕ The mistake was imputed by poor leadership. ✓ The mistake was imputed to poor leadership.

Using into after impute

Into is not idiomatic with this verb.

✕ She imputed dishonesty into the proposal. ✓ She imputed dishonesty to the proposal.

Leaving out the object

Impute usually needs something that is being attributed.

✕ They imputed to the manager. ✓ They imputed the delays to the manager.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The lawyer refused to impute blame ___ the assistant.
2. Which phrase is standard English?
3. The losses were imputed ___ poor planning.

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Frequently asked questions

Is impute a formal word?

Yes. It is especially common in legal, academic, and formal writing.

Can I say impute against someone?

That combination is generally considered nonstandard. Use impute something to someone instead.

What does impute mean?

It means to attribute a quality, action, fault, or cause to someone or something.

identify-with-by-in-as, for "ignore by" or "ignore in"? illuminate by, with, at, for or in? "illustrate by" or "illustrate in"? "imagine for", "imagine by" or "imagine in"? imbue with, in, by or onto? immigrate to, from, in, with or into? impair by, for, in, because or throughout? "impart to", "impart in" or "impart by"? "impeach by" or "impeach for"? "impinge on" or "impinge upon"? "implement in" or "implement by"?

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