Comply With: Standard Pattern
Comply With: Standard Pattern records the directly documented Cambridge construction and keeps the guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Cambridge documents “comply with” when someone or something acts according to a rule, instruction, request, or agreement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| act according to a rule, instruction, request, or agreement | comply with + requirement | Use the documented “with” pattern. |
| general statement where the requirement is understood | comply | The verb may stand without restating the requirement. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does the sentence name the rule, request, instruction, or agreement being followed?
If yes: Use “comply with” before that complement.
If no: If the requirement is already understood, “comply” can stand alone.
Caveat: Choose by the documented meaning or construction; a different pattern may be valid in a different sentence structure.
Examples
All entries must comply with the submission rules.
“With” introduces the rules being followed.
The notice asked every vendor to comply.
The requirement can be supplied by context.
The revised process complies with the agreement.
The object of compliance follows “with.”
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge documents comply with for acting according to a rule, law, instruction, order, request, or agreement.
Style Boundary
This page records the supported comply-with construction without claiming that comply must always carry an explicit complement.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- comply — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary evidence for the verb construction comply with something.