Poor In: Standard Pattern
Poor In: 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 “poor in” when something contains or has very little of a particular substance, resource, or quality.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| contains very little of a substance | poor in + substance | Use “poor in” for scarcity of that content. |
| has very little of a resource or quality | poor in + resource/quality | The same construction can identify what is lacking. |
| financial or general low-quality meaning | other “poor” construction | Do not force the “poor in” scarcity pattern onto unrelated senses. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you saying that something contains or possesses very little of a named substance, resource, or quality?
If yes: Use “poor in” before what is lacking.
If no: Use the construction appropriate to the different sense of “poor.”
Examples
This soil is poor in nitrogen.
“Poor in” identifies the substance present in low amount.
The summary is poor in detail.
The construction identifies a quality that is lacking.
The family was poor.
This is the financial/general adjective sense, not the “poor in” scarcity construction.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “poor in” when something contains or has very little of a particular substance, resource, or quality.
Style Boundary
This page records the “poor in” scarcity construction, not the financial or general low-quality senses of “poor.”
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.
- POOR | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the Poor In construction and its meaning boundary.