Successful In: Standard Pattern
Successful 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 “successful in” before an activity, attempt, field, or -ing form when describing achievement of the intended result.
Key details
Choose the right form
| What follows | Pattern | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| an activity or attempt | successful in + noun / -ing | Use the documented achievement pattern. |
| a field or area | successful in + field | Use “in” when the complement names the area in which success is achieved. |
| a person or thing for whom something is appropriate | choose wording for suitability rather than success | Do not use “successful in” merely to mean “suitable for.” |
Quick tests
Achievement-domain test
Does the complement name the activity, attempt, or field in which the intended result was achieved?
If yes: Use “successful in + noun/-ing.”
If no: If you mean appropriateness rather than achievement, choose a suitability construction.
Caveat: This guide covers the reviewed “successful in” pattern; it does not claim that “successful” takes only one complement in every sense.
Examples
The researchers were successful in identifying the source of the fault.
The -ing clause names the activity in which the intended result was achieved.
She has been successful in business.
The noun names the field in which success was achieved.
The campaign was successful in reaching first-time voters.
The construction links the successful result to a specific activity.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “successful in” before an activity, attempt, field, or -ing form when describing achievement of the intended result.
Style Boundary
Cambridge documents “successful in something/doing something”; this guide does not imply that every predicative use of “successful” needs an in-phrase.
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.
- Successful (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for successful in something/doing something.