Precious To: Standard Pattern
Precious To: 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 “precious to” before the person for whom something has especially great personal or emotional value.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| person for whom something has great personal/emotional value | precious to + person | Use “to” before the person. |
| precious used before a noun | precious + noun | No “to” complement is required. |
| monetary/value sense or another construction | use the construction required by that sense | Do not turn this one complement pattern into a universal rule. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming the person for whom something has especially great personal or emotional value?
If yes: Use “precious to” before that person.
If no: Use the construction required by the different “precious” sense or sentence pattern.
Examples
That photograph is precious to her.
“To” introduces the person for whom the item has special personal value.
These letters are precious to the family.
The recipient of the emotional value follows “precious to.”
They kept the precious photograph in a safe place.
Attributive “precious” does not need a “to” complement.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “precious to” before the person for whom something has especially great personal or emotional value.
Style Boundary
Cambridge also uses “precious” attributively and in monetary/value senses; this guide covers the documented “precious to” complement pattern.
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.
- Precious — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for “precious to” when something has great personal or emotional value to someone.