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Prepositions after verbs

Stare at, into, in, from or of?

Stare at is the most common pattern. Other prepositions are used for direction, location, or viewpoint.

Quick answer

Using stare with prepositions

Use stare at for looking fixedly at something. Use stare into for looking deeply into a space or eyes. Stare in is uncommon as a fixed pattern and usually describes location. From and of are not standard complements after stare.

She stared at the screen.
He stared into the fire.
The child stared in silence.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
stare at + object/person

Looking fixedly at something

At is the standard preposition after stare.

They stared at the painting for minutes.
She stared at him without speaking.
2
stare into + space/eyes

Looking deeply into something

Into suggests depth or inward direction.

He stared into the mirror.
She stared into the distance.
3
stare in + manner/place

Describing surrounding circumstances

In usually introduces a manner or location rather than a selected complement.

The audience stared in confusion.
She stared in amazement.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
stare at
He stared at the door.
Direct a fixed look toward something.
stare into
She stared into his eyes.
Look deeply inward or toward depth.
stare in
They stared in silence.
In introduces a state or manner.
stare from
She stared from the window.
Possible only when from marks the viewing position, not as a fixed verb pattern.
stare of
The phrase stare of is not standard English.
Use stare at or another natural construction instead.

Common mistakes

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

Using of after stare

Stare does not normally take of as its complement.

✕ He stared of the painting. ✓ He stared at the painting.

Using from as the object marker

From can show location, but at usually introduces the object viewed.

✕ She stared from me. ✓ She stared at me.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The tourists stared ___ the giant statue.
2. He stared ___ the dark tunnel.
3. She stared ___ amazement after the announcement.

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Frequently asked questions

Is stare at rude?

Often yes, because it suggests looking too long or too directly at someone.

Can I say stare into space?

Yes. It means looking ahead without focusing on anything specific.

Why is stare of incorrect?

English normally uses stare at for the object being looked at.

sack, by, sack, for, sack, from "sacrifice for" or "sacrifice to"? sail from, in, for, to or through? "salvage from" or "salvage in"? sanction by, for, in, with or according? satisfy with, by, in, about or after? "saturate with" or "saturate in"? save by, for, from, on or in? "say in", "say about" or "say to"? "scan for", "scan in" or "scan through"? "scar by" or "scar on"? scatter in, across, around, throughout or on?

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