Sustain is commonly followed by by when naming support or means. Sustain in is uncommon as a fixed pattern and usually belongs to a separate phrase about location or context.
Use sustain by to show what supports or maintains something, often in passive structures. Sustain in is not a common fixed combination after the verb and usually appears only when in introduces a place or situation.
These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.
Use by to identify the force, money, energy, or system that keeps something going.
Sustain often takes a direct object such as damage, interest, or growth.
In can follow sustain when it belongs to a later phrase describing the context of an injury or loss.
The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.
Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.
In usually introduces a separate phrase about place, time, or context.
✕ The project was sustained in donations. ✓ The project was sustained by donations.Injuries are normally sustained in an accident or during an event, not by plus the event.
✕ He sustained injuries by the crash. ✓ He sustained injuries in the crash.Many uses of sustain take a direct object only.
✕ They sustained on growth. ✓ They sustained growth.Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.
Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.
Yes. Passive forms such as sustained by public funding are very common.
Yes. You can sustain growth, sustain attention, or sustain damage.
Usually because in introduces the place or event, as in sustained injuries in a collision.
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