23.

Prepositions

Verbs followed by prepositions

Absorbed in

Arrive in

Believe in

Confide in

Be engrossed in e.g. She was so engrossed in reading that she didn’t hear the doorbell.

Fill in e.g He filled in the application.

Implicate in

Include in

Increase in

Instil in e.g. They instilled good manners in her.

Involve in

Lack in e.g. He lacks in good manners.

Persist in

Result in

Specialize in

Succeed in

Account for e.g. We have to account for the weather when going for a picnic.

Admire for
Allow for e.g. We have to allow for the weather when going for a picnic.

Apologise for

Bargain for

Blame for

Care for

Cater for e.g. We cater for all tastes.

Charge for e.g. How much do you charge for this car?

Count for

Decide for

Earmark for e.g. This tree was earmarked for cutting.

Fall for

Forgive for

Punish for

Pay for

Wait for

Work for

Accuse of

Approve of

Disapprove of

Dream of

Die of

Consist of

Convict of
Remind of

Smell of

Suspect of

Taste of

Take care of

Think of (also possible: think about)

Acquaint with e.g. I am not acquainted with Tom Smith.

Agree with

Associate with

Charge with e.g. He is charged with murder.

Clutter with (be cluttered with)

Coincide with

Collide with

Compare with

Comply with e.g. Everybody has to comply with the rules.

Communicate with

Concern with

Confront with

Confuse with

Cope with e.g. You have to cope with the situation.

Cram with (be crammed with) e.g. The room was crammed with furniture.

Cry with (grief)

Be crowded with
Deal with

Discuss with

Face with (be faced with)

Fill with

Ingratiate oneself with e.g. He always ingratiates himself with the boss.

Interfere with

Meet with (meet with an accident)

Pack with (be packed with) e.g. The room was packed with furniture.

Plead with e.g. He pleaded with his father to forgive him.

Provide with

Sympathise with

Tamper with e.g. The thief tampered with the lock and now it’s broken.

Trust with

Bar from

Benefit from

Come from

Derive from

Deter from e.g. He was deterred from going out by bad weather.

Differ from

Distinguish from

Distract from

Excuse from

Exempt from e.g. He was exempted from doing sports because he was ill.

Expel from e.g. He was expelled from school for bad behaviour.

Refrain from e.g. You have to refrain from smoking in public places.

Result from (be the consequence of)

Resign from

Recover from

Stem from e.g. Your problems stem from your lack of education.

Suffer from

Stop from

Translate from

Base on

Bet on

Blame on

Put the blame on

Centre on

Concentrate on

Congratulate on

Count on

Decide on

Depend on

Elaborate on

Impose on

Insist on

Pride oneself on
Rely on e.g. I rely on you to help me with moving out.

Spend on

Try on (clothes)

Protest against

Insure against

Argue about

Agree about

Be concerned about

Be worried about

Boast about

Decide about

Dream about

Hear about

Laugh about

Know about

Forget about

Protest about

Quarrel about

Think about (also possible: think of)

Worry about

 
Phase something out e.g. Land line phones are phasing out.

Arrive at

Aim at

Glance at

Gaze at

Guess at

Hint at

Joke at

Laugh at

Look at

Mock at

Shout at

Shoot at

Stare at

Marvel at

Agree to

Answer to

Appeal to someone (beg)

Appeal to someone (It appeals to me. = I like the idea.)

Apply oneself to   e.g.  She applied herself to her studies.

Apply to                 e.g.      This rule doesn’t apply to you.

Attend to
Attribute to

Belong to

Commit oneself to

Confess to

Dance to music

Devote oneself to

Give birth to

Listen to

Prefer one thing to another

React to

Refer to something

Refer someone to someone e.g.     My doctor referred me to a specialist.

Resort to e.g. He resorted to murder to escape prison.

See to something (make sure it is done)

Subject someone to something

Succeed to (the throne)

Be used to doing something

Be accustomed to doing something

Take into consideration

Adjectives followed by prepositions

Afraid of
Ashamed of

Aware of

Beware of

Capable of

Conscious of

Fond of

Full of

Be good of somebody to do something

Indicative of

Irrespective of e.g. I love you irrespective of your social position.

Jealous of

Envious of

Shy of

Suspicious of

Tired of

Worthy of

Annoyed about

Anxious about

Certain about

Excited about

Pleased about

Right about

Sorry about
Thrilled about

Upset about

Wrong about

Angry with a person

Annoyed with a person

Bored with

Commensurate with e.g. Your results are commensurate with how much you worked.

Connected with

Confronted with

Content with

Be good at dealing with

Happy with

Incompatible with

Obsessed with

Pleased with

Popular with

Preoccupied with

Satisfied with

Angry at a person

Annoyed at a person

Be bad at

Be good at
Surprised at

Skilled at

Keen on

Addicted to

Attentive to

Confined to

Equivalent to

Grateful to

Kind to

Immune to

Impervious to

Indifferent to

Liable to (likely to suffer from)

Married to

Opposed to

Prone to e.g. She is prone to lying when she doesn’t learn the lesson.

Resigned to

Baffled by

Bored by

Detained by

Distressed by
Plagued by

Shocked by

Surprised by

Early for

Eligible for

Famous for

Late for

Liable for (legally responsible)

Ready for

Responsible for

Sorry for

Suitable for

Deficient in

Experienced in

Implicated in

Interested in

Absent from

Derived from

Different from

Safe from

Missing from
 

Prepositional phrases (Nouns followed by prepositions)

An authority on (expert)

An autlook on

Advice on

Attack on

Ban on

Comment on

Effect on

Emphasis on

Expert on

Influence on

Restriction on

Talk on

Tax on

Access to

An alternative to

An attitude to

Damage to

An exception to

Objection to

Reaction to
Reply to

A solution to

Thanks to

A threat to

A witness to

The key to

Be in authority over

Have control over

Be in dispute over something

Agreement with

Contrast with

Connection with

Contract with

Be in dispute with someone

Encounter with

Harmony with

Link with

Quarrel with

Relationship with

Trouble with

Admiration for
Craving for

Credit for

Cure for

Desire for

Disregard for

Excuse for

Provision for

Reason for

Recipe for

Reputation for

Respect for

Responsibility for

Room for

Sympathy for

Aware of

Delay of

Description of

Hope of

Idea of

Lack of

Map of

Treatment of

 
Departure from

Protection from

Fall from

Extract from

Phone call from

Discussion about

Information about

Quarrel about

Argument about

Debate about

Hesitation about

Choice between

Comparison between

Connection between

Contact between

Relationship between

An insight into

Expressions beginning with prepositions

 
In advance

In addition

In answer to

In the balance

In all likelihood

In blood

In answer to

In any case

In cash

In the centre of

In charge of/ with

In collaboration with

In comparison with

In comfort

In conclusion

In control

In the country

In decline

In demand

In dispute

In distress

In danger

In the early stages

In earnest
In the end

Be in favour of something

Be in favour with someone

In fear of

In future

In good/ bad condition

In general

In haste

In harmony

In high spirits

In ink

In jeopardy

In the middle of

In the news

In one way or another

In other words

In the open air

In pairs

In pencil

In practice

In recognition of

In response to

In short

In the north/south
In the mountains

In the park

In a queue

In town

In theory

In time

In trouble

In turn

In a loud voice

In the beginning

In the end

In the morning/afternoon/evening

In March

In an hour

In the twentieth century

In the night

In a moment

In a day or two

In 1999

With the exception of

With intent to

With regard to

With a view to
With the aim of

With the result that

At any rate

At ease

At fault

At first sight

At the first/ second/third attempt

At the end

At large

At liberty

At all times

At the time

At times

At the moment

At present

At the age of

At the beginning

At breakfast/ lunch/ dinner

At the bottom of

At the top of

At the bus stop

At sea

At the corner
At the crossroads

At dawn/ sunrise

At noon

At dusk/ sunset

At daybreak

At midnight

At night

At last

At the door

At first

At once

At home

At arm’s length

At least

At the same time

At work

At a hotel

At one’s risk

At a price

At the top of one’s lungs/voice

At the weekend

At weekends

At 9 o’clock

At Christmas/Easter/Ramadan
At a wedding

At a funeral

On average

On approval

On a regular basis

On behalf of

On condition that

On the contrary

On good terms

On loan

On the market (for sale)

On its merits

On offer

On purpose

On the verge of

On my own

On no account

On second thoughts

On the whole

On business

On a diet

On arrival

On foot
On the one hand

On the other hand

On line

On (off) duty

On fire

On horseback

On the left/right

On the floor

On TV

On the radio

On the screen

On the phone

On holiday

On a date

On August 8th

On Tuesday

On New Year’s Day

On Christmas/Easter Day

On the morning of 23rd April

On that day

On the island of

On board

On a cruise

On an excursion
On a trip

On a tour

On Earth

On a chair/stool

On a farm

On a mountain

On the outskirts

On page three

On the pavement

On the streets

Beyond belief

Beyond a joke

Beyond the shadow of a doubt

By coincidence

By mistake

By the time

By rights

By surprise

By accident

By heart

By chance
By the way

By bus/train/plane/ship etc

By sea/land/air

By example

By sight

By means of

By no means

By cheque

Day by day

By air mail

By e-mail/fax/phone

By far

By the rules

By the arm

By hand

By and by

By and large

By day

By night

For fear of

For life

Not for long

For the foreseeable future

For the time being

For the moment

For a change

For ages

For breakfast/lunch/dinner

For fun/pleasure

For granted

For ever

For luck

For nothing

For sale

For short

For a visit

For a walk

Go for a place

For a while

For now

For one’s birthday

For better or worse

For one’s sake

Out of breath

Out of control

Out of danger
Out of date

Out of doors

Out of earshot

Out of fashion

Out of focus

Out of favour

Out of luck

Out of money

Out of the ordinary

Out of order

Out of pocket

Out of practice

Out of print

Out of all proportion

Out of reach

Out of sight

Out of stock

Out of time

Out of touch

Out of tune

Out of work

Out of the woods

Out of the way

Out of the blue

 

Under age

Under the circumstances

Under control

Under cover of

Be under the impression that

Under the influence of

Under (a law)

Under an obligation

Under pressure

Under repair

Under stress

Under suspicion

Under threat

Without a chance

Without delay

Without exception

Without a word

Within the law

Within reach

Within limits

Within reason
Within walking distance

After all

To some extent

To the point

To one’s surprise

To one’s amazement

To one’s health

To some degree

To you

Up to date

Up to you

Up and down

Up until/till (now)

Up the hill

Up the spout = wasted or spoiled e.g. Pete lost his job so that meant our holiday plans went up
the spout.

Up to no good

Up as far as

Up one’s nose

Up with (the new)

 
 

From A to B

From bad to worse

From place to place

From cover to cover

From top to bottom

From time to time

From morning to night

From now on

From my point of view