ENGLISH
REFERENCE

charge with

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to officially accuse someone of a crime or to give someone a specific task to do.

phr. v.. to formally accuse a person of a criminal offence; alternatively, to entrust someone with a specific duty or responsibility.


SIMPLE

The police charge him with theft.

CONTEXTUAL

After a long investigation, the state decided to charge the suspect with fraud and money laundering.

COMPLEX

The committee was charged with investigating the environmental impact of the new highway before any construction could begin.

Particles
with
Separability
separable
Pattern
charge + object + with + noun/gerund
Usage

the object (the person) comes between the verb and the preposition.

Teaching tip

highlight the dual usage in legal and professional contexts; in legal contexts, it is almost always passive ('was charged with').

Pitfall

They charged him of the crime.They charged him with the crime.the verb 'charge' collocations with 'with', whereas 'accuse' collocations with 'of'.

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