Generous With: Standard Pattern
Generous With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “generous with” when naming the resource, time, money, praise, or other thing someone gives freely.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| resource, time, money, praise, or other thing given freely | generous with + resource | Use “with” for what is supplied freely. |
| recipient of generous treatment | generous to + person/group | Use “to” for the recipient. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does the complement name what is being given freely rather than who receives it?
If yes: Use “generous with.”
If no: Use “generous to” when the complement is the recipient.
Caveat: The documented patterns overlap in meaning but differ in the role of the complement; other generous-constructions also exist.
Examples
She is generous with her time.
“With” introduces the resource given freely.
The editor was generous with praise.
The complement names what was given freely.
They were generous to the volunteers.
“To” identifies the people receiving the generosity.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “generous with” when naming the resource, time, money, praise, or other thing someone gives freely.
Style Boundary
Oxford documents “generous with” alongside “generous to,” “generous in,” and “generous of”; this page records the with-pattern without excluding those alternatives.
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.
- generous — Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for “generous to somebody,” with other documented generous constructions retained as alternatives rather than exclusions.