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Prepositions after verbs

Trawl through or trawl for?

Trawl through means search among many items. Trawl for means search in order to find something specific.

Quick answer

Through focuses on material; for focuses on the target

Use trawl through when describing the collection of things being searched. Use trawl for when naming the thing you hope to find.

She trawled through old emails all afternoon.
Reporters trawled for new details after the announcement.
I spent hours trawling through archives.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
trawl through + collection

Searching among many items

Through introduces the material, records, or places being searched.

They trawled through police files for evidence.
He spent the evening trawling through job listings.
2
trawl for + target

Searching for something specific

For introduces the information, objects, or opportunities being sought.

Investigators trawled for clues.
She trawled online for cheap flights.
3
trawl through + digital content

Searching large amounts of online material

This pattern is common for internet, database, and archive searches.

Users trawl through social media posts every day.
The team trawled through customer data for trends.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
trawl through
He trawled through hundreds of documents.
Focuses on the material being examined.
trawl for
They trawled for investors.
Focuses on the goal of the search.
trawl through for
She trawled through the records for names.
Combines the searched material and the target.
trawl in
They trawled in the harbour.
In can describe location, but it is not the standard search pattern.

Common mistakes

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

Using for with the collection searched

For should introduce the target, not the material examined.

✕ He trawled for the database all night. ✓ He trawled through the database all night.

Using through with the target

Through introduces the material searched, not the thing wanted.

✕ They trawled through evidence. ✓ They trawled for evidence.

Forgetting the object after through

Through normally needs the collection or material being searched.

✕ She trawled through for answers. ✓ She trawled through old reports for answers.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The journalist trawled ___ court records.
2. Police are trawling ___ witnesses.
3. We trawled through the archive ___ useful photos.

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Frequently asked questions

Can trawl through and trawl for appear together?

Yes. You can trawl through files for information.

Is trawl only used for fishing?

No. It is now common for extensive searching in documents, websites, or databases.

What is the difference between search and trawl?

Trawl suggests a long or detailed search through large amounts of material.

tackle by, in, for, with or on? tack-on-onto-to-across, as "tag with" or "tag in"? tailor to, for, from, toward or towards? "taint by" or "taint with"? "take into", "take in" or "take to"? "talk about" or "talk to"? tally with, in, for, up or at? "tap into" or "tap on"? target at, by, for, to or in? tarnish by, in, with, after or as? "taste like", "taste of" or "taste in"?

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