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Prepositions after verbs

Legislate for vs legislate against

Legislate for supports or creates legal provisions. Legislate against prohibits or restricts something.

Quick answer

Main difference

Use legislate for when making laws supporting or regulating something. Use legislate against when making laws to prohibit or oppose something.

The government legislated for safer workplaces.
The country legislated against smoking in public areas.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
legislate for + policy

Creating supportive or regulatory laws

For introduces the policy or area being supported or regulated.

Parliament legislated for equal pay.
2
legislate against + activity

Banning or restricting something

Against introduces the target of prohibition.

The state legislated against illegal dumping.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
legislate for
They legislated for consumer protection.
create laws supporting or regulating something
legislate against
The city legislated against dangerous fireworks.
create laws prohibiting or restricting something
legislate on
Congress legislated on tax reform.
make laws concerning a topic

Common mistakes

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

Using against for supportive laws

Against implies opposition or restriction.

✕ The government legislated against renewable energy. ✓ The government legislated for renewable energy.

Using for with bans

For does not express prohibition.

✕ The country legislated for public smoking. ✓ The country legislated against public smoking.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The senate legislated ___ stronger safety rules.
2. The region legislated ___ animal cruelty.
3. Parliament legislated ___ healthcare reform.

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Frequently asked questions

Can legislate be used without a preposition?

Yes. Governments can legislate directly on an issue.

Is legislate against always a ban?

Usually it involves restriction or prohibition.

What is the difference between legislate for and support?

Legislate for specifically refers to creating laws, not only expressing approval.

label, as, label, with lag behind, in, from, on or by? "land on" or "land in"? languish in, at, on, for or near? last for, from, until, in or through? "latch onto" or "latch on"? laugh at, with, about, in or for? launch in, by, on, at or into? "lay on" or "lay in"? lead to, by, up, in or from? "leak to" or "leak from"? lean on, towards, against, toward or to?

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