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Preposition before noun

How to use prepositions with “cause”

“Cause” commonly combines with “of” and “for.” Other prepositions may appear depending on the sentence structure and meaning.

Quick answer

Common prepositions with “cause”

The standard patterns are “cause of” for origin and “cause for” for reason or justification. “Cause to” usually belongs to a verb pattern, while “without cause” and “about the cause” are separate expressions with different meanings.

Doctors investigated the cause of the illness.
There is no cause for concern.
He was dismissed without cause last year.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
cause of + result

Identifying the reason something happened

Use “of” to state the origin or reason for an effect.

The police confirmed the cause of the accident.
Scientists studied the cause of climate change.
2
cause for + feeling/action

Showing justification or grounds

Use “for” to express a reason for concern, celebration, action, or response.

There is no cause for alarm.
The results gave us cause for optimism.
3
without cause

Showing lack of justification

This fixed phrase means without a valid reason.

The employee was fired without cause according to the report.
She was criticised without cause by the committee.
4
about the cause

Talking or learning about a cause

“About” usually relates to discussion or knowledge, not directly to the noun “cause” itself.

They spoke about the cause of the conflict.
I read an article about the cause of the outage.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
cause of
The cause of the fire is unknown.
The standard pattern for origin or reason.
cause for
There is cause for concern.
Shows justification or grounds for a feeling or response.
cause to
The error caused the system to fail.
“To” usually belongs to the verb “caused,” not directly to the noun “cause.”
without cause
He was removed without cause.
Means without valid justification.
about cause
They argued about the cause of the problem.
“About” introduces the topic of discussion, not a fixed noun phrase with “cause.”

Common mistakes

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

Using “cause to” after the noun

“To” normally follows the verb “cause,” not the noun.

✕ the cause to the delay ✓ the cause of the delay

Confusing “cause of” and “cause for”

Use “cause of” for origin and “cause for” for justification.

✕ There is cause of concern. ✓ There is cause for concern.

Omitting “the” in common expressions

Many phrases with “cause” need an article.

✕ They investigated cause of fire. ✓ They investigated the cause of the fire.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Doctors identified the ___ the infection.
2. There is no ___ panic.
3. The manager dismissed him ___.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between “cause of” and “cause for”?

“Cause of” names the reason something happened. “Cause for” means justification for a feeling or action.

Is “without cause” a fixed expression?

Yes. It is a standard legal and general English expression meaning without valid reason.

Can I use “about” directly with “cause”?

Usually “about” introduces discussion, as in “talk about the cause,” rather than forming a fixed combination with the noun.

of, about, against, to or for racism? of, about, for, in or on friendship? of, about, for, on or to thing? of, about, for, to or with sex? of, about, on, to or for moon? "of access" or "with access"? "of accommodation" or "for accommodation"? "of accuracy" or "for accuracy"? "of action" or "in action"? "of actor", "with actor" or "by actor"? "of address" or "to address"? "of administration" or "in administration"?

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