Sometimes you will find that some verbs need to work with a preposition. The combination of a verb plus a preposition is known as prepositional verbs.
Here you will find some of the most common prepositions that you will find with verbs.
- for
- to
- about
- with
- of
- in
- at
- on
- from
These prepositional verbs need to have an object after them (it can be a noun or a gerund). The verb and the preposition cannot be separated.
We use the preposition "FOR" in order to emphasize a purpose or reason. Here is a list of common verbs followed by the preposition "FOR".
apologize, ask, beg, care, fight, hope, long, play, provide, search, wait, wish, work.
- You need to apoligize for you rude behavior.
- I guess, I will need to ask for a loan.
- We need to fight for our right to a free election.
- Steve suffer a serious accident, his family is begging for a miracle.
We use the preposition "TO" in order to refer to direction (literal or metaphorical) or a connection between people or things.
adjust, admit, belong, travel, listen, go, relate, response, talk, turn
- Brian will need to adjust to his new job.
- The kid mentioned that the book belong to his sister.
- I couldn't listen to the teacher's instrutions.
- If you have a problem go and talk to the teacher.
We use the preposition "ABOUT" with the following verbs, when refering to things, events or gerunds,
ask, care, complain, forget, hear, joke, know, laugh, learn, talk, think, worry, write
- Do you know what the client complain about?
- George always jokes about how he met Steve.
- My parents are worried about getting sick during their trip to Mexico.
- My sister wrote about her experience leaning a foreign language in Brazil.
- Did you hear about the new project for the cafeteria?
We use the preposition "WITH" point of connections and relationships between people or things.
agree, argue, begin, start, collide, compare, compete, cope, disagree, interfere, meet
- My dad usually doesn't agree with my points of view.
- The manager argued with the president of the board about
- My sister finds it difficult to cope with failure.
- Do you happen to know when we will meet with the new coordinator?
- My dad say that he only competes with himself.
We use the preposition "OF" with different verbs.
approve, consist, dream, hear, take care, think
- The program consist of three different modules.
- Have you heard of this new tv program?
- Never stop thinking of succeeding in all your proyects.
- Joan dreams of traveling the world.
We use the preposition "IN" with different verbs and it expresses involment or connections between people or things.
believe, engage, invest, live, participate, result, specialize, succeed
- Most of the children in my country believe in Santa Claus.
- Do you think it is a good time to invest in the stock market?
- George succeeded in getting a raise at his job.
- The manager lives in a small house downtown.
We use the preposition "AT" in order to talk about places, skills, and reactions.
arrive, balk, excel, laugh, look, nod, shout, smile, stare
- What time will the material arrive at our premises?
- My cousin excels in music and the arts.
- We couldn't stop laugh at his joke, it was really good.
- I don't feel well when people stare at me.
- Could you take a look at my report before I give it to the manager.
We use the prepopsirion "ON" with different verbs.
agree, bet, comment, concentrate, decide, depend, elaborate, experiment, insist, operate, plan, rely
- The commitee couldn't agree on a solution last night.
- I would not bet on that project, I guess it mght not work for us.
- You will have to decide on who to hire for the position of general manager.
- We all agree not to experiment on animals.
- My dad insisted on taking us to the party.
- It is not a good idea to rely on the new secretary, she was just hired last week.
We use the preposition "FROM" with verbs to identify a point of origin, a connection or disconnection between people or things.
benefit, come, differ, escape, recover, refrain, resign, retire, suffer
- We can benefit from this merge and have a sucessful outcome next year for both companies.
- Many of the new products that we now import come from Asia.
- Our dog escape from our house last night.
- I am sure the company will recover from all its problems.
- My dad plans to retire from his job next year.
