Align With or To? Which is the Correct Preposition?

Vocabulary / By

The verb “To align” means to bring into line but we often use “align” in a metaphorical way to show that things are congruent(match up to) with our goals. 

Think about an example where you want to stay on a diet and someone offers you a slice of cake. You could say “that doesn’t align with my goal of losing weight”.

“With” is usually the preposition you need with “align” but “to” is also possible.

Align With 

We use the preposition “with” with a verb or adjective when we mean “in relation to”. In the case with “align” we use “with” when we want to show that something matches our intentions. 

Your course really aligns with my goals in life.

The stars are aligning with the moon.

This of course could have a physical meaning too when something needs to “line up” with something else.

Align To

The preposition “to” is usually used to mean “in the direction of” when used with a verb or an adjective. This “to” can be physically “moving in the direction of” or it can be metaphorical. Let’s look at some examples of “align” with the preposition “to”:

We need to align our work to their work.

Can you align your goals to my goals?

Conor
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