Sign In Get Started
Prepositions before nouns

Should you say “at pace” or “of pace”?

At pace is an established expression meaning quickly or at a strong speed. Of pace is generally not idiomatic in modern English.

Quick answer

Correct choice

Use at pace to mean rapidly or at speed, especially in business, sports, or military contexts. “Of pace” is not a standard English combination.

The team worked at pace to finish the rollout.
The runners started at pace despite the heat.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
at pace

Meaning quickly or at speed

At pace describes fast movement or rapid progress.

Construction continued at pace through the winter.
The negotiations moved at pace after lunch.
2
pace of + activity

Describing speed or rhythm

Use pace of when naming the speed of something.

pace of change worries some workers.
pace of development has increased.
3
pick up pace

Talking about increasing speed

This common expression means to become faster.

Sales began to pick up pace in June.
The storm picked up pace overnight.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
at pace
The reforms are progressing at pace.
Standard expression meaning rapidly.
of pace
They discussed the pace of the project.
Of usually follows pace, not precedes it.
pace of
The pace of work increased.
Names the speed or rhythm of something.

Common mistakes

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

Using “of pace” as a fixed phrase

English does not normally use of pace by itself.

✕ The work continued of pace. ✓ The work continued at pace.

Confusing “at pace” with “pace of”

At pace is adverbial; pace of introduces a noun phrase.

✕ the at pace changes ✓ the pace of changes

Omitting the article where needed

Pace often takes the before an of-phrase.

✕ pace of economy ✓ the pace of the economy

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The company is expanding ___ this year.
2. The ___ innovation has accelerated.
3. Which phrase is generally nonstandard?

Check your sentence in context

Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

Free to try · No signup required

Frequently asked questions

What does “at pace” mean?

It means quickly, rapidly, or at a strong speed.

Is “of pace” ever correct?

Not as a standalone phrase. English normally uses “pace of” instead.

Is “at pace” formal?

It is common in professional, sports, and military contexts and sounds fairly formal.

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"?

Write with confidence in Linguix

Create a free account to check complete texts, apply suggestions, and save your documents.

Create a free account