Verbs with Prepositions

1.     Many verbs that are used without an object are normally followed by a prepositional phrase. Some verbs take a particular preposition:

belong to hint at lead to qualify for sympathize with

consist of hope for listen to refer to

happen to insist on pay for relate to

2.     With other verbs that are used without an object, the choice of a different preposition may alter the meaning of the clause.

agree on/with appeal to/for conform to/with

result from/in think about/of        apologize for/ to

care about/of remind about/of               suffer from/with

 3. With verbs that are used without an object, different prepositions are used to introduce different types of information.
‘about’ indicates the subject matter

care explain talk

complain hear think

do know write

dream   speak

‘at’ indicates direction

glance look stare

glare point

grin shoot

laugh shout  smile

‘for’ indicates purpose or reason

apologize look

apply search

ask wait

leave

‘into’ indicates the object involved in a collision

bump

crash

drive

run

‘of’ indicates facts of information

hear think

know

speak

talk

‘on’ indicates confidence or certainty

congratulate

count

depend

plan

rely

‘to’ indicates the listener or reader

complain speak

explain talk

listen write

say

‘with’ indicates someone whose opinion is the same or different

agree

argue

disagree

side

4. Some verbs have an object, but are also followed by a preposition.

EXERCISES

Put in the correct prepositions (to, about, at, from, for, in, into, of, on, with):

1. I want to talk ___ the group ___ their exams.

2. All last winter he suffered ___coughs and colds.

3. When will you write ___ Bill ___your plans?

4. If you don’t understand any of these words, you could refer ___ a dictionary.

5. The accident sadly result ___ the death of a man.

6. The police are appealing ___ witnesses to come forward.

7. It wasn’t his car, in fact I don’t know who it belongs ___ .

8. Nurses are very badly paid, I think they should insist ___ higher rates of pay.

9. The poor driver – I really sympathize ___ him, it wasn’t his fault.

10. The buses are often late, so you can’t depend ___ them.

11. Do you qualify ___ a state pension when you are 55?

12. Keep enough money to pay ___ your ticket.

13. Have you heard ___ what had happened ___ him? Oh, I don’t care ___ him.

14. I said ___ you I was thinking ___ going to America. I actually dreamt ___ it.

15. She listened ___me and then told me ___ her problems.

16. The bus ran ___ the wall of a house.

17. People started to shout ___the driver.

18. Who was the boy you were all laughing ___ ?

19. I saw somebody staring ___me from the other side of the road.

20. He was always arguing ___ his brother.

21. I bumped ___ an old friend the other day.

22. I agree ___you that we should wait a bit longer ___her.

23. She never apologizes ___ arriving late.

24. I thought we should look ___someone else to do the job.

25. If you want to travel, that would be a good job to apply ___ .

26. The land belongs ___ a rich man.

27. She then referred ___ the Minister’s report.

28. I congratulate her ___ her success in the exams.

29. The boss disagreed ___ me.

30. The match resulted ___ a draw.

31. His failure resulted ___ lack of attention to details.

32. Tonight I’m going to talk ___ engines.

33. You can count ___ me.

34. You can rely ___ him to be polite.

35. They complained ___ me about the noise.

36. Mary turned her head to speak ___ him.

37. The daughters sided ___ their mothers.

38. Can I speak ___ Jane, please?

39. Can you explain this word ___ me?

40. Can you explain ___ me what you mean?

41. He told me his name but I can’t think ___ it now.

42. This house reminds me ___ the one I lived in when I was a child.

43. We called the doctor because Nick was complaining ___a pain in his stomach.

44. That’s a good idea. Why didn’t I think ___ that?

45. Look at this photograph of Ann. Who does she remind you ___ ?

46. She left Boston ___ Paris when she was 19.

47. If something is wrong, why don’t you do something ___ it?

48. Peter likes his job but he doesn’t talk ___ it much.

49. I like to listen ___ the radio while I’m having breakfast.

50. Please don’t shout ___ me!

Adjectives with Prepositions

1. When you use an adjective after a link verb, you can often use the adjective on its own or followed by a prepositional phrase.
2. Some adjectives cannot be used alone after a link verb, if they are followed by a prepositional phrase, they must have a particular preposition:

aware of, accustomed to, fond of, unaware of, unaccustomed to, used to, different from/to, sorry about/for. 
 

3. Some adjectives can be used alone or followed by a particular preposition:
       a. Used alone or with ‘of’ to specify the cause of a feeling:

afraid, ashamed, convinced, critical, envious, frightened, jealous, proud, scared, suspicious, terrified, tired.
 

       b. Used alone or with ‘of’ to specify the person who has a quality:

brave, careless, clever, generous, good, intelligent, kind, nice, polite, sensible, silly, stupid, thoughtful, unkind, unreasonable, wrong.


       c. Used alone or with ‘to’, usually referring to:

similarity: close, equal, identical, related, similar;
marriage: married, engaged;
loyalty: dedicated, devoted, loyal, and their opposites;
rank: junior, senior.

      d. Used alone or followed by ‘with’ to specify the cause of a feeling:

bored, content, displeased, dissatisfied, impatient, impressed, pleased, satisfied.

      e. Used alone or with ‘at’, usually referring to:

strong reaction: amazed, astonished, shocked, surprised;
ability: bad, excellent, good, hopeless, useless.

      f. Used alone or with ‘for’ to specify the person or the thing that quality relates to:

common, difficult, easy, essential, important, necessary, possible, unnecessary, unusual, usual.

4. Some adjectives can be used alone or with different prepositions.
     a. Used alone or with an impersonal subject and ‘of’ and the subject of the action, or with   a  personal subject and ‘to’ and the object of the action:

cruel, friendly, generous, good, kind, mean, nasty, nice, polite, rude, unfriendly, unkind.

     b. Used alone, with ‘about’ to specify a thing or ‘with’ to specify a person:

angry, annoyed, delighted, disappointed, fed up, furious, happy, upset.


EXERCISES:
Put in the correct prepositions: of, to, with, at, about, for, from.

1. He was afraid _____ his enemies.
2. I’ve always been terribly fond _____ you.
3. He is unaccustomed _____ the heat.
4. They may feel jealous _____ your success.
5. I was terrified _____ her.
6. That was clever _____ you.
7. I turned the job down, which was stupid ________ me.
8. My problems are very similar _____ yours.
9. He was dedicated _____ his job.
10. I could never be bored _____ football.
11. He was very pleased _____ her.
12. He was shocked _____ the hatred they had shown.
13. She had always been bad _____ languages.
14. It’s difficult _____ young people to be on their own.
15. It was unusual _____ them to go away at the weekend.
16. It was rude _____ him to leave so suddenly.
17. She was rude _____ him for no reason.
18. She was still angry _____ the results.
19. They’re getting pretty fed up _____ him.
20. If you continue to support someone who is in trouble you are loyal _____ them.
21. If two things are almost the same, one is similar _____ the other.
22. Someone who is a fine athlete is good _____ games.
23. I was proud _____ my brother.
24. I’m very much surprised _____ you. I can’t understand the way you behave.
25. Life is very different _____ what it used to be.
26. Who is responsible _____ this mess?
27. I’m delighted _______ the result. It’s exactly what I wanted.
28. In the army, a sergeant is senior _____ a corporal.
29. If two things are exactly the same one is identical _____ the other.
30. If something makes you very unhappy, you are very upset _____ it.
31. If someone makes you very angry, you are furious _____ him.
32. If you feel that you do not trust someone, you are suspicious _____ him.
33. If you treat someone very well, you are being kind _____ him.
34. If you have agreed to marry someone, you are engaged _____ him.
35. Everyone was very critical _________ the way he behaved.
36. We were very happy _____ the way they treated us.
37. I was very displeased _____ the way they looked.
38. I feel sorry _____ Nick. He has a lot of problems.
39. I’m sorry _____ the noise last night. We were having a party.
40. That was not very polite _____ you.
41. Why are you always so rude _____ your parents?
42. Were you disappointed _____ your exam results?