Prone to means likely to suffer from something, again and again: the cables are prone to damage; she's prone to headaches. It's almost always about something unpleasant: mistakes, injuries, breakdowns, colds. For good habits, say tends to: he tends to arrive early. Hence accident-prone, someone who always gets hurt.
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be prone to + noun / be prone to + -ing / be prone to + base verb
- The older cables are prone to damage.
- I am prone to checking the route more often than necessary.
- This wooden door is prone to stick in damp weather.
What changed
First versionThe outdoor microphone is prone to interferences.
RevisionThe outdoor microphone is prone to interference.
There can be many separate problems, so interferences looks like a natural plural. But in this sense interference is uncountable and takes no s: prone to interference. The same goes for damage, not damages.
Likely to is just probability, good or bad: likely to win. Prone to is a lasting tendency, usually towards problems: prone to injury. And prone without to means lying face down: lie in a prone position.
Your turn
Choose the preposition naming a recurring problem: The path is prone ___ flooding after heavy rain.
Show the answer
to — The problem after prone is introduced with to: prone to flooding. For doesn't combine with prone.
Describe a thing or place where the same problem keeps happening, and name the conditions. Use prone to.
The garden gate is prone to sticking after several days of rain.
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