Prepositions
Prepositions are another very difficult area of English for a non-native speaker to learn. Most simply have to be rote-learnt for each context. Swan Practical English Usage pp. 444 - 457 offers a comprehensive guide to their usage. Grammar Smart also has a good list.
Below is a list of the more common prepositions: (From Swan)
Prepositions after words
- accuse somebody of something
- She accused me of poisoning her dog.
- afraid of
- Are you afraid of spiders?
- agree with a person, opinon or policy
- I entirely agree with you.
- agree about a subject of discussion
- We agree about most things.
- agree on a matter for decision
- Let's try to agree on a date.
- agree to a suggestion
- I'll agree to your suggestion if you lower the price.
- angry with (sometimes at) a person for doing something.
- I'm angry with him for lying to me.
- angry about (sometimes at) something
- What are you so angry about?
- anxious about (= worried about)
- I'm getting anxious about money.
- anxious for (= eager to have)
- We're all anxious for an end to this misunderstanding.
- anxious + infinitive (= eager, wanting)
- She's anxious to find a better job.
- apologise to somebody for something
- I think we should apologise to the Smiths.
- I must apologise for disturbing you.
- arrive at or in
- What time do we arrive at Cardiff?
- When did you arrive in England?
- bad at
- I'm not bad at tennis.
- believe in God, Father Christmas etc (= believe that.. . exists; trust)
- I half believe in life after death.
- If you believe in me I can do anything.
- belong in/on/etc (= go, fit, have its place in/on/etc)
- Those glasses belong on the top shelf.
- belong to (= be a member of)
- I belong to a local athletics club.
- blue with cold, red with anger etc
- My hands were blue with cold when I got home.
- clever at
- I'm not very clever at cooking.
- congratulate/congratulations on something
- I must congratulate you on your exam results.
- Congratulations on your new job!
- crash into
- I wasn't concentrating, and I crashed into the car in front.
- depend/dependent on
- We may play football - it depends on the weather.
- He doesn't want to be dependent on his parents.
- But: Independent of
- details of
- Write now for details of our special offer.
- die of or from
- More people died of flu in 1919 than were killed in the
First World War.
- A week after the accident he died from his injuries.
- different from
- The new school is different from the old one.
- difficulty with something, (in) doing something
- I'm having difficulty with my travel arrangements.
- You won't have much difficulty (in) getting to know people in Italy.
- disappointed in somebody
- My father never showed if he was disappointed in me.
- disappointed with/at/about/ something
- You must be pretty disappointed with/at/about your exam results.
- discussion about something
- We had a long discussion about politics.
- divide into
- The book is divided into three parts.
- dream of (= think of, imagine)
- I often dreamed of being famous when I was younger.
- dream about/of (while asleep)
- What does it mean if you dream about/of mountains?
- dress(ed) in
- Who's the woman dressed in green?
- drive into
- Granny drove into a tree again yesterday.
- enter into an agreement, a discussion etc
- We've just entered into an agreement with Carsons Ltd.
- example of
- Sherry is an example of a fortified wine,
- explain something to somebody
- Could you explain this rule to me?
- fight; struggle with
- I've spent the last two weeks fighting with the tax office.
- frightened of or by
- He is frightened of rats.
- She was frightened by a loud noise.
- get in (to) and out of a car, taxi or small boat
- When I got into my car, I found the radio had been stolen.
- get on(to) and off a train, plane, bus, ship, (motor)bike or horse
- We'll be getting off the train in ten minutes.
- good at
- Are you any good at tennis?
- (the) idea of...ing
- I don't like the idea of getting married yet.
- ill with
- The boss has been ill with flu this week.
- impressed with/by
- I'm very impressed with/by your work.
- increase in activity, output etc
- I'd like to see a big increase in productivity.
- independent of or sometimes from; independence from
- She got a job so that she could be independent of her
parents.
- When did India gain its independence from Britain?
- insist on
- George's father insisted on paying.
- interest/interested in
- When did your interest in social work begin?
- Not many people are interested in grammar.
- kind to
- People have always been very kind to me.
- (a) lack of
- Lack of time prevented me from writing.
- (to) be lacking in
- He is lacking in tact.
- laugh at
- I hate being laughed at.
- laugh about
- We'll laugh about this one day.
- listen to
- If you don't listen to people, they won't listen to you.
- look at (= 'point one's eyes at')
- Stop looking at me like that.
- look after (= take care of)
- Thanks for looking after me when I was ill.
- look for (= try to find)
- Can you help me look for my keys?
- marriage to; get/be married to
- Her marriage to Philip didn't last very long.
- How long have you been married to Sheila?
- near (to)
- I came near to hitting him.
- She lives near to me.
- nice to
- You weren't very nice to me last night.
- operate on
- They operated on her yesterday evening.
- pay for something that is bought
- Excuse me, sir. You haven't paid for your drink.
- pleased with somebody
- The boss is very pleased with you.
- pleased with/about/at something
- I wasn't very pleased with/about/at my exam results.
- polite to
- Try to be polite to Uncle Richard for once.
- prevent ... from ... ing
- The noise from downstairs prevented me from sleeping.
- proof of
- I want proof of your identity.
- reason for
- Nobody knows the reason for the accident.
- remind of
- She reminds me of a girl I was at school with.
- responsible/responsibility for
- Who's responsible for the shopping this week?
- rude to
- Peggy was pretty rude to them last weekend.
- run into (= meet)
- I ran into Philip at Victoria Station this morning.
- search for (= look for)
- The customs were searching for drugs at the airport.
- shocked at/by
- I was terribly shocked at/by the news of Peter's accident.
- shout at (aggressive)
- Stop shouting at me.
- shout to (= call to)
- Mary shouted to us to come in and swim.
- smile at
- If you smile at me like that I'll give you anything you want.
- sorry about something that has happened
- I'm sorry about your exam results.
- sorry for/about something that one has done
- I'm sorry for/about breaking your window.
- sorry for a person
- I feel really sorry for her children.
- speak to; speak with (especially US)
- Could I speak to/with your father for a moment?
- suffer from
- My wife is suffering from hepatitis.
- surprised at/by
- Everybody was surprised at/by the weather.
- take part in
- I don't want to take part in any more conferences.
- think of/about
- I'm thinking of studying medicine.
- I've also thought about studying dentistry.
- the thought of
- I hate the thought of going back to work.
- throw . . . at (aggressive)
- Stop throwing stones at the cars.
- throw . . . to (in a game etc)
- If you get the ball, throw it to me.
- translate into
- Could you translate this into Greek for me?
- trip over
- He tripped over the cat and fell downstairs.
- typical of
- The wine's typical of the region.
- write to
- Please write to me.
- wrong with
- What's wrong with Rachel today?
Prepositions before words
- at the cinema; at the theatre; at a party; at university
- What's on at the cinema this week?
- a book (written) by Joyce; a concerto (composed) by Mozart;
- I've never read anything by Dickens.
- by car/bike/bus/train/boat/plane/land/sea/air; on foot (but in the car, on a bus etc)
- Let's take our time and go by boat.
- for... reason
- My sister decided to go to America for several reasons.
- from . . . point of view
- Try to see it from my point of view.
- In... opinion
- In my opinion, she should have resigned earlier.
- in the end (= finally), after a long time
- In the end, I got a visa for Russia.
- at the end = at the point where something stops
- I think the film's a bit weak at the end.
- in pen, pencil, ink etc
- Please fill in the form in ink.
- in a picture, photo etc
- She looks much younger in this photo.
- in the rain, snow etc
- in a suit, raincoat, shirt, skirt, hat etc
- Who's the man in the funny hat over there?
- in a... voice
- Stop talking to me in that stupid voice.
- on page 120 etc
- There's a mistake on page 120.
- on the radio; on TV; on the phone
- Is there anything good on TV tonight?
- It's Mrs Ellis on the phone: she says it's urgent.
- on time = at the planned time; neither late nor early
- Peter wants the meeting to start exactly on time.
- in time = with enough time to spare; before the last moment
- He would have died if they hadn't got him to the hospital in time.
