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Prepositions before nouns

Of incident or without incident?

Without incident is a fixed expression meaning safely or with no problems. Of incident is not normally used alone, but it can appear after certain nouns such as report or risk.

Quick answer

Which expression should you use?

Use without incident to say that nothing bad or unusual happened. Do not use of incident by itself. You may see phrases like report of an incident, where of connects incident to another noun.

The flight landed without incident despite the storm.
The event ended without incident late at night.
Police received a report of an incident near the station.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
without incident

Describing a safe or uneventful situation

This fixed phrase means that no problems or accidents occurred.

The protest passed without incident on Saturday.
She completed the journey without incident.
2
report of + incident

Connecting incident to another noun

Use of after nouns such as report, record, or risk.

We received a report of an incident at the airport.
There is no record of the incident in the archive.
3
incident involving + noun

Describing who or what was involved

Use involving to identify participants or causes.

The police investigated an incident involving two vehicles.
They discussed an incident involving a customer yesterday.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
without incident
The ceremony ended without incident.
Means safely or with no trouble.
of incident
A report of an incident was filed.
Possible only when of links incident to another noun.
incident involving
An incident involving chemicals occurred.
Describes the people or things connected to the incident.

Common mistakes

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

Using of incident as a complete phrase

Of incident cannot usually stand alone.

✕ The trip ended of incident. ✓ The trip ended without incident.

Omitting an article after of

Incident usually needs an article in singular form.

✕ report of incident ✓ report of an incident

Using without incident with a negative meaning

Without incident means no problems happened.

✕ The fight happened without incident. ✓ The evening passed without incident.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The match ended ___ incident.
2. Police received a report ___ an incident downtown.
3. She returned home ___ incident after the storm.

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Frequently asked questions

Is without incident formal?

It is common in news reports, official writing, and everyday English.

Can I use of incident alone?

No. It normally needs another noun before it, such as report of an incident.

What is a similar phrase to without incident?

You can also say safely, with no problems, or uneventfully depending on context.

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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