--------------------------A argue with

ability in It does little good to argue with a judge.

It’s fantastic your ability in maths.
argue about
account for A judge does not want you to argue about
Nothing could account for his depression. anything unless you have a good case.

accuse. . . of arrive at
They accused him of robbing a bank. He arrived at a conclusion quickly.

addicted to ask after

He's addicted to computers. I'm phoning to ask (or enquire) after/about Mrs
Brown. She's in Ward 4.
afraid of
She is afraid of a dog. ask for
Children like to ask their parents for gifts, but
agree about they especially like to ask for special toys.
Something that everyone can agree about is
that we all want to be happy. award of
We couldn’t agree about the colour to paint the The Arts Council gave him an award of
kitchen. £1,500.
The society awarded him a silver medal.
agree on (award sb sth)
No one could agree on anything.
aware of
agree with She is aware of the dangers
I agree with the man who is speaking.
--------------------------B
aim at
You should never aim a gun at someone. be fond of (gostar muito de algo)
she was fond of dancing
allude to
It is not polite to allude to someone’s be good at
disability. I am good at figures.
I’m good at math.
angry…about/at
We were angry at/about the delay. be late for
I’m late for my English class.
angry with (sb) for (sth)
She was angry with Henry. be married to
How long have you been married to Nicky?
apologize for
He did apologize for running away. be proud of
We're particularly proud of our company's
apologize to environmental record.
The leader did not want to apologize to th
people. be sad about
I’m sad about the Jane’s accident.
apply for (sth) to (sb)
Every June college graduates apply for jobs. be satisfied with
Are you satisfied with the new arrangement?
approve of I am satisfied with the decision.
We do not approve of his behavior. --------------------------B (cont.)
become of

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John has disappeared; I do not know what has She came from Honduras with her family.
become of him.
common for
believe in My name is very common for you.
Do you believe in magic?
compare with
belong to How does a small car compare with a large
Whom does this pet belong to? It belongs to car?
her.
complain about
blame . . . for He is always complaining about something.
Don’t blame me for your problems!
compliment on
blame . . . on Compliment them on their performance.
Don’t blame your problems on me!
concentrate on
borrow from Are you concentrating on looking for a new
He has borrowed enough money from the job?
bank.
congratulate on
break into They deserve to be congratulated on (or for)
Our house was broken into a few days ago, but their good work.
nothing was stolen. consent to (give permission)
The parents refused to consent to their son’s
bump into marriage.
We bumped into Kate when we were in
London last week. consist of
The solution consists of some strange
--------------------------C chemicals.
capable of
I'm quite capable of looking after myself. convince of
I am convinced of his good intentions.
care + no preposition (We use care with no
preposition before how, if, what, when, etc. to crash into
mean that something is (not) considered He lost control of the car and crashed into a
important or significant) wall.
I must buy it. I don't care how much it costs.
cut into
care about Lettering had been cut into the stonework.
Frank cared about his clothes more than I don't like doing the shopping on a Saturday
anything else. afternoon because it cuts into my weekend.

care for --------------------------D

She enjoys the time she can care for her nieces decide between
and nephews. I cannot decide between the two.

collide with decide on

A bus collided with a car.
confidence in
I have little confidence in these figures.
I have every/complete confidence in her.
come from
I’ve decided on getting married.
I've decided on blue for the bathroom.
--------------------------D (cont.)
delight in (take great pleasure in)
My child delights in watching the ducks.

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depend on/upon fill with
Do not depend upon other people. Take this saucepan and fill it with water.
It will depend on yours father’s decision
forgive for
detract from Forgive me for my fault.
My reservations should not detract from the
book's excellence frightened of
Such behaviour detracts from your beauty. Are you frightened of spiders?

differ from --------------------------G

My opinion differs from your opinion. glance at/in
Rachel glanced at him.
divide into
The book is divided into three parts. go back to
When do you go back to school?
dream about/of
We are dreaming about going to Paris. gone up by
She dreamed of her own funeral. The price gone up 5%.

dressed in (special party cloths) gone up to…from

She was dressed in a suit The price gone up to 7% from 4%.

drive into graduate from/in

He drove a nail into the boot.
A post had been driven (= hit hard) into the
ground near the tree. (to force someone or
something to go somewhere or do something)
drive to
They're driving to Scotland on Tuesday. (to
move or travel on land in a motor vehicle,
especially as the person controlling the
vehicle's movement)
She graduated from that good college.
Tom has just graduated with first-class
honours in psychology.
--------------------------H
happen to
Oh, I just happened to be in the
neighbourhood.
What happened to that gold watch you used to
have? (=where is it now?)

--------------------------E hear of
enquire about/after Have you ever heard of something like that?
similar ‘ask after’
hear about
enquire into Did you hear about Mary? She’s got a new
The body has been set up to enquire into near- job.
accidents reported by airline pilots.
hear from
escape from Did you get a letter from him? I never hear
He escaped from prison. from him.

excuse. . . for help to/with

The teacher excused the child for his Do you need any help with those boxes?
behaviour. This could be of help to you
--------------------------I (cont.)
explain... to hope for
It is difficult to explain a problem to people I hope the best for your new life. It can be
who don’t care. better.

--------------------------F --------------------------I

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insist on
The decorator insists on blue drapes.
invite . . . to
It would be a good idea to invite him to the
party.
--------------------------K
keep in touch with
I kept in touch with my old school friends.
keen on (interested in or attracted by)
They are keen on horses.
know about/of
What little is known about/of the plans
suggests they will be unpopular.
--------------------------L
laugh about
We laugh about the crazy things we used to
do.
laugh at
It’s not nice to laugh at someone.
--------------------------O
object to
Most people do not object to helping someone
in need.
operate on (medical process)
She needs to operate on the new machine.
Are they going to operate on him?
operate bare of preposition (to (cause to)
work, be in action or have an effect)
For several years she operated a dating agency
from her basement flat.
We have representatives operating in most
countries
order for
There are no shirts left in this size but we
could order one for you/order you one.
Here's the running order for the concert (= the
order in which each item will happen).
--------------------------P
pay for
I need to pay for the new school.

laugh with prefer . . . to

When a person laughs, it’s good to laugh with I prefer red cars to blue cars
him.
prevent from
learn about/of His disability prevents him (from) driving.
I have just learnt about/of the death of Dr
Brown. (= found out about) plan on
Why don’t you plan on staying at our place?
listen for
I’m listening for the mail carrier; she should be provide . . . with
here by now. My parents have provided me with enough
money to last for one month.
listen to (more common)
Listen to me when I’m speaking to you. --------------------------R
recover from
look at It often takes a long time to recover from a
It is not polite to look at someone for a long serious illness.
time.
refer to
look for If you are referring to me, you should say so.
My child is lost! We must look for him. rely on
--------------------------M I can always rely on my strength.
make of
I don't know what to make of that remark. remind (sb) about (tell sb not to forget)
earrings made of gold I'm glad you reminded me about the meeting.
I'd completely forgotten about it.
make from
Butter is made out of/from milk. remind (sb) of (sth/sb)

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You remind me of a bear.
resign from
I resigned from my job.
retire from
Since retiring from the company, she has done
voluntary work for a charity.
She retired from the competition after pulling
a leg muscle.
return from/to
David returned from work to find his house
had burned down.
Within a week, the situation had returned to
normal.
run around
A climbing rose bush runs (= grows) around
the front door.
run into (experience problems)
We ran into bad weather/debt/trouble.
run for
The show/course/film runs (= continues) for
another week.
--------------------------S
scare of
I'm scared of telling her what really happened,
but I am not scared of spiders.
search for
We searched for the lost child for three hours,
but we couldn’t find her.
shout/point/throw at/to
Don't shout at me, I'm doing my best!
The taxi driver shouted to someone across the
street. 'Is the station near here?'
sign on to
Robert sign on to a new company.
sign up for
Julie has signed up for courses on English and
French this year. (to sign a document saying
that you will work for someone or do a
particular job or activity)
specialise in
I’m specialise in ENT.
spend . . . on
Anna spent all of her money on a new car.
substitute for
When I was absent, William substituted for
me.
succeed by
She succeeded by sheer willpower.
succeed in
The campaign has certainly succeeded in
raising public.
This risk I gladly accept in the hope that I have
succeeded in bringing to your notice the fact
that there is an ailment here, however
indifferent my diagnosis may have been, and
by provoking thought on the matter.
suffer from
she has always suffered from the fighting
between her parents.
supply with
At the beginning of term, students are supplied
with a list of books that they are expected to
read.
The lake supplies the city with water
stare at
Don't stare at people like that, it's rude.
stay in
He's decided not to stay (=continue) in
teaching/medicine/the army.
stay with
The children usually stay with their
grandparents for a week in the summer.
--------------------------T
talk to
When I am talking to you, I expect you to
listen to me.
talk about
It is not nice to talk about people when they
are not present.
terrified of
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I'm terrified of the dark.
thank . . . for
Thank you for the nice gift.
think about
We have been thinking about Jan and her
problems for a while, (rather than ...thinking
of...)
think for yourself (to make your own
decisions and form your own opinions,
without depending on other people)
It's no good asking me all the time, Anna -
you're going to have to learn to think for
yourself.
think of
He suddenly thought of Hilary. Perhaps she
would help, (rather than ...thought about...)
--------------------------V
vote for
You should vote for my candidate.
worry about
Mothers always worry about their children,
and so do fathers.
wrestle with (grapple, fight, struggle, contend,
vie, battle, wrangle; scuffle, tussle)
We spent three hours wrestling with that
problem, but we could not solve it.
There are other prepositions…
by phone (Notice: However, if there is a
determiner before the noun (e.g. a(n), the, this,
that, my, her) or if the noun is plural, we use a
preposition other than by. For example: I
ordered it on the phone.
by mistake
by accident
by chance
by myself
on my own
for ages

--------------------------W
wait for
Please wait for me! I’ll be ready in a moment.

wait on
No, I will not bring you breakfast in bed. I
won’t wait on you like that.

wander around/about
We spent the morning wandering around the
old part of the city.

wonder about (If we wonder about doing

something, we think about doing it in the
future, or say that we want to know about
something or someone)
I've been wondering about (= considering)
going to Florida

wonder at (If we wonder at something, we say

that we are surprised at it or impressed by it)
The children had their faces pressed to the
glass of the cage, wondering at the tigers they
could see only inches away on the other side.

work for
We should all work for the good of mankind.
Mukesh works for that big company.

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