English UsageGrammar guide

Useful In: Standard Pattern

Useful 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.

Quick answer

Use “useful in” before a field, activity, or -ing form when something helps within that context or process.

Key details

Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familyadjective or complement construction
Termsuseful in

Further guidance

Construction

Use “useful in” before a field, activity, or -ing form when something helps within that context or process.

Style Boundary

Oxford directly documents both “useful in something” and “useful in doing something”; “useful for” and “useful to” also have valid uses and are not rejected here.

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.

  1. Useful — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Direct learner-dictionary evidence for useful to somebody and useful for somebody/something/doing something.

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