Prepositions after particular words and expressions

It is not always easy to know which preposition to use after a particular noun, verb or adjective. Here are some of the most common combinations which cause difficulty to students of English. Alternatives are sometimes possible, and American and British usage sometimes differ. There is only room for very brief notes here; for more complete information about usage with a particular word, consult a good dictionary.

• accuse somebody of something (not for)

  • She accused me of poisoning her dog.

• afraid of (not by)

  • Are you afraid of spiders?

• agree with a person, opinion or policy

  • He left the company because he didn’t agree with their sales policy.
  • I entirely agree with you.

• agree about/on a subject of discussion

  • We agree about/on most things.

• agree on a matter for decision

  • Let’s try to agree on a date.

• agree to a suggestion or demand

  • I’ll agree to your suggestion if you lower the price.

• angry with (sometimes at) a person for doing something

  • I’m angry with her 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 (not to)

  • What time do we arrive at Cardiff station?
  • When did you arrive in England?

• ask: (see here).

• bad at (not in)

  • I’m not bad at tennis.

• believe in God, Santa Claus, etc (= believe that … exists; trust)

  • I half believe in life after death.
  • If you believe in me, I can do anything.

  but believe a person or something that is said (= accept as truthful/true – no preposition)

  • Don’t believe her.
  • I don’t believe a word she says.

• 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

• borrow: (see here).

• care: (see here).

• clever at (not in)

  • I’m not very clever at cooking.

• congratulate/congratulations on something

  • I must congratulate you on your exam results.
  • Congratulations on your new job!

• congratulate/congratulations on/for doing something

  • He congratulated the team on/for having won all their games.

• crash into (not usually against)

  • I wasn’t concentrating, and I crashed into the car in front.

• depend/dependent on (not from) or of

  • 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/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: (see here).

• difficulty with something, (in) doing something (not difficulties to …)

  • I’m having difficulty with my travel arrangements.
  • You won’t have much difficulty (in) getting to know people in Italy.

• disappointed with/in somebody

  • My father never showed if he was disappointed with/in me.

• disappointed with/at/about something

  • You must be pretty disappointed with/at/about your exam results.

• [a] discussion about something

  • We had a long discussion about politics.

  but [to] discuss something (no preposition)

  • We’d better discuss your travel plans.

• divide into (not in)

  • 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 (not with)

  • Who’s the woman dressed in green?

• drive into (not against)

  • That idiot Kim drove into a tree again yesterday.

• enter into an agreement, a discussion, etc

  • We’ve just entered into an agreement with Carsons Ltd.

• enter a place (no preposition)

  • When I entered the room everybody stopped talking.

• example of (not for)

  • Sherry is an example of a fortified wine.

• explain something to somebody (not explain somebody something)

  • Could you explain this rule to me?

• fight, struggle, etc with somebody

  • I’ve spent the last two weeks fighting with the tax office.

• fight, struggle, etc against something

  • As Schiller said, against stupidity even the gods fight in vain.

• frightened of or by: (see here).

• 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 (not in)

  • Are you any good at tennis?

• [the] idea of …ing (not the idea to …)

  • I don’t like the idea of getting married yet.

• ill with

  • The boss has been ill with bronchitis this week.

• impressed with/by

  • I’m very impressed with/by your work.

• increase in activity, output, etc (not of)

  • I’d like to see a big increase in productivity.

• independent, independence of or from

  • She got a job so that she could be independent of her parents.
  • When did India get its independence from Britain?

• insist on (not to)

  • George’s father insisted on paying.

• interest/interested in (not for)

  • When did your interest in social work begin?
  • Not many people are interested in grammar.

• interested to do /in doing something: (see here)

• kind to (not with)

  • People have always been very kind to me.

• lack of

  • Lack of time prevented me from writing.

• [to] be lacking in

  • She is lacking in tact.

  but [to] lack (no preposition)

  • Your mother lacks tact.

• laugh at

  • I hate being laughed at.

• laugh about

  • We’ll laugh about this one day.

• leave from somewhere (talking about the place)

  • Does the plane leave from Liverpool or Manchester?

• leave somewhere (talking about the action of leaving)

  • I left London early, before the traffic got too heavy.

• 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?

• make, made of/from: (see here).

• marriage to; get/be married to (not with)

  • Her marriage to Philip didn’t last very long.
  • How long have you been married to Hannah?

  but marry somebody (no preposition)

  • She married her childhood sweetheart.

• near (to): (see here).

• nice to (not with)

  • You weren’t very nice to me last night.

• operate on a patient

  • They operated on her yesterday evening.

• pay for something that is bought (not pay something)

  • 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 (not with)

  • Try to be polite to Uncle Richard for once.

• prevent … from …ing (not to)

  • The noise from downstairs prevented me from sleeping.

• proof of (not for)

  • I want proof of your love. Lend me some money.

• reason for (not of)

  • Nobody knows the reason for the accident.

• remind of (and (see here)

  • She reminds me of a girl I was at school with.

• responsible/responsibility for (not of)

  • Who’s responsible for the shopping this week?

• rude to (not with)

  • Peggy was pretty rude to my family 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.

• search (without preposition) (= look through; look everywhere in/on)

  • They searched everybody’s luggage.
  • They searched the man in front of me from head to foot.

• shocked at/by

  • I was terribly shocked at/by the news of Daniel’s accident.

• shout at (aggressive)

  • If you don’t stop shouting at me, I’ll come and hit you.

• shout to (= call to)

  • Emily 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 (not the speaker’s fault)

  • I’m sorry about your exam results.

• sorry for/about something that one has done (apologising)

  • I’m sorry for/about breaking your window.

• sorry for a person (sympathy)

  • I feel really sorry for her children.

• speak to; speak with (especially AmE)

  • 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 (not at) or of

  • I don’t want to take part in any more conferences.

• think of/about (not think to)

  • I’m thinking of studying medicine.
  • I’ve also thought about studying dentistry.

• the thought of (not the thought to)

  • 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 (not in)

  • Could you translate this into Greek for me?

• trip over

  • He tripped over the cat and fell downstairs.

• typical of (not for)

  • The wine’s typical of the region.

• write: (see here).

• wrong with

  • What’s wrong with Rachel today?

note

For of after determiners like some, most, Determiners: quantifiers.