======Prepositions after expressions ====== =====Introduction=====

man homme office bureau desk computer ordinateur tie   Jack is the HR manager. He's responsible for recruiting new employees.

=====Uses=====

We often use prepositions after verbs and adjectives and as a part of fixed expressions and phrasal verbs. Here are some examples we can use to talk about work:


Expression

Preposition

Examples

 

to be responsible

 

for

 

Kim is responsible for quality control.

 

 

to be in charge

 

of

 

Tony's in charge of accounts and payroll.

 

 

to be involved

 

in/with

 

Michelle's involved in/with the new e-learning project.

 

 

to be qualified

 

as

for

 

Teri is qualified as a doctor but not as a surgeon. [job title]

Larry was over qualified for the job.

 

 

to report

 

to

 

Chloe reports to Bill. [he's her boss]

 

 

to consist

 

of

 

David's department consists of one manager, an assistant and three technicians.

 

 

to work

 

as

in

for

 

Sherry works as a personal assistant. [job title]

Nina works in advertising. [general e.g. education, finance]

George works for a big engineering company. [employer]

 

 

to specialise

 

in

 

Audrey's company specialises in telecommunications.

 

 

to deal

 

with

in

 

Wayne and his team deal with all our travel arrangements.

Karen's company deals in fruit and vegetables.

 

 

to take care

 

of

 

Edgar takes care of hospitality and catering.

 

 

to look

 

after

 

Morris looks after our overseas investments.

 

 

to qualify

 

as

 

After studying for three years, Aaron qualified as a marine engineer.

 


Note that

  1. 'responsible' is an adjective, not a noun, so:

     

    I'm a responsible of IT. red x, red cross

    I'm an IT manager. green check mark, tick mark

     

  2. 'specialise'  is a verb and 'specialist' is a noun so:

I'm specialise/specialised in pharmaceutical research. red x, red cross

I specialise in pharmaceutical research.   green check mark, tick mark

I'm a specialist in pharmaceutical research. green check mark, tick mark

 

       3.  Sometimes, more than one preposition is possible. There might be no difference in meaning or a subtle difference.

For example:

He's involved in local politics. [he participates in activities related to politics]

He's involved with a campaign for more recycling. [suggests an emotional link]

She's involved with someone in the accounts department. [in a personal relationship.]


If you are not sure which preposition to use, look in a good dictionary. And when you learn a new verb or adjective, try to learn the correct preposition at the same time. You will remember it better in an example sentence.


=====Feelings=====

We use adjectives to talk about how we feel and we need prepositions if we want to give extra information. Here are some examples:

 

Adjective

Preposition

Examples

 

afraid

 

of

 

Paul's afraid of spiders.

 

 

angry

 

about [something]

with [someone]

at/with [someone]...for + gerund

 

 

Ethan's angry about the new regulations.

Allison's angry with Olivia.

Martha was angry at/with Charles for lying to her.

 

annoyed

 

about [something]

with [someone]

at/with [someone]...for + gerund

 

 

Lynne's annoyed about the delay.

Mike's annoyed with Noah.

Nadia's annoyed at Ryan for not believing her.

 

anxious

 

about

 

Curtis is anxious about the situation.

 

 

excited

 

about

 

James is excited about his promotion.

 

 

happy

 

with

 

 

about

 

 

Tom's happy with the results and his team's performance. [satisfied]

 

Kayla's really happy about her new job. [feeling pleasure or contentment]

 

 

interested

 

in

 

Janis is interested in new technology.

 

 

nervous

 

about

 

Adam's nervous about his interview.

 

 

proud

 

of

 

Renée is proud of everyone in her team.

 

 

satisfied

 

with

 

Chase wasn't satisfied with the service they provided.

 

 

sorry

 

about

for

 

I'm sorry about all the problems you're having.

Cole feels sorry for Dana because she lost her job.

 

 

worried

 

about

 

Paul's worried about losing his job.

 

 

 


=====Other expressions=====

listen radio music earphones headset

 

 

 

 


 

"Do you enjoy listening to the radio?"  

"It depends on the kind of programme."

We need to use prepositions after some verbs and expressions when we add information. For example:  

 

            We're waiting for a train. 

            They laughed at the joke. 

 

            There was a misunderstanding about the meeting room.

            We didn't get a response to our complaint.

 

Note that

 

  1. The verbs in the above examples are not phrasal verbs. They only need a preposition if we add extra information. Unlike phrasal verbs, they can also be used alone:

We're waiting.

They laughed.

 

  1. Some phrasal verbs are also followed by a preposition when adding information. For example: 

We're running out of paper.

After the break, we'll go on with our discussion.

 

Here are some more examples of prepositions after verbs and expressions. If you are not sure which preposition to use, look in a good dictionary. And when you learn new expressions, try to learn the correct preposition at the same time. You will remember it better in an example sentence.

 

sb = somebody/someone

sth = something


Expression

Preposition

Examples

 

adjust

 

 

to

 

 

We need to adjust to the new situation.    

 

 

agree

 

 

to

 

with sb about/on sth

 

 

The team agreed to the revised working hours.  

 

The team agreed with the boss about working longer hours.

They agree on most topics but disagree on the question of working hours.

 

 

apologise 

 

 

to sb/for sth

 

 

He apologised to the chairman for interrupting.

 

 

argue

 

 

with sb/ about/over sth

 

 

The team argued with the boss about working longer hours.

We argued over where to go on holiday.

 

 

be aware

 

 

of

 

 

Andy wasn't aware of the company's safety regulations.

 

 

be capable

 

 

of

 

 

Elaine is capable of solving any problem.

 

 

be convinced

 

 

of

 

by

 

 

Edwin isn't convinced of the importance of this project.

 

He isn't convinced by anyone's arguments.

 

Note that 'of' and 'by' are not used in the same way. We use 'by' in a passive way. For example, we are convinced 'by' an argument or 'by' the results of a survey or experiment. That is to say, the argument or results convince us 'of' something:

 

I was convinced by the conclusions in the report of the necessity to make some changes.

 

 

be/get married

 

 

to

 

 

Emma's married to a doctor and her sister Samantha's getting married to a dentist.

 

 

be made

 

 

of

 

from

 

 

 

by

 

 

Malcolm's shoes are made of leather.   

 

Wine is made from grapes. [there's a transformation]

The car was made from the strongest materials available. [components]

 

The cake is made by beating eggs and sugar. [method] 

  

 

belong

 

 

to

 

 

Tony belongs to the Climbers' Club. [is a member]

This book belongs to Robin. [possession]

 

 

benefit

 

 

from

 

 

Jim benefited from more exercise.

 

 

blame

 

 

sb for sth

 

sth on sb

 

 

Sue blamed Ben for their late arrival.

 

Sue blamed their late arrival on Ben.

 

 

borrow

 

 

(sth) from sth/sb

 

 

Kate borrowed £500 from her parents.

 

 

complain

 

 

to sb/ about sth

 

 

We are going to complain to the manager about the service.

 

 

cope

 

 

with

 

 

We're not coping with the crisis.

 

 

depend

 

 

on

 

 

The decision to move to a new office depends on the cost.

She depends on him for honest advice. [different meaning of 'depend' = 'to rely']

 

 

describe*

 

 

sth/sb to sb

 

 

She described her new boyfriend to her colleagues.

 

 

discuss

 

 

sth with sb

 

 

They discussed the plans with us.

 

[Do not use 'about' with this verb because 'discuss' = 'talk about']

 

 

explain*

 

 

sth to sb

 

 

He explained the problem to his team.

 

 

hear

 

 

about

 

 

Did you hear about the traffic problems? - lots of people are going to be late. [receive information on a topic] 

 

Note that there are two phrasal verbs which might be confused with this: 

 

I've never heard of chili-flavoured ice-cream! [have knowledge of sth or sb] 

 

Did you hear from Keira when she was on holiday? [receive a phone call, email etc.] 

 

 

invest

 

 

in

 

 

The company invested in some new IT equipment.

 

 

invite

 

 

sb to sth

 

Let's invite the new employees to lunch.

 

 

participate

 

 

in

 

 

I'd like everyone to participate in the debate.

 

 

provide

 

 

sb with sth

sth for sb

 

 

We provided the delegates with agenda. 

We provided an agenda for the delegates.

 

 

recommend*

 

 

sth to sb

 

They recommended a new Italian restaurant to us.

 

 

recover

 

 

from

 

 

Ian's recovering from his illness.

Our company is recovering from the losses we suffered last year.

 

 

rely

 

 

on

 

 

Can I rely on you to finish this by Friday?

 

 

reply

 

 

to

 

 

I need to reply to three emails this afternoon.

 

 

respond

 

 

to

 

 

Did they respond to our request? 

 

 

return

 

 

sth to sb

 

 

I returned the component to the manufacturer because it was faulty.

 

 

say

 

 

(sth) to sb

 

 

I said to him that I wanted the report by Friday.

 

He said something to me about the report.

 

 

talk

 

 

to sb about sth/sb

 

 

 

 

 

with sb [mostly US]

 

 

They talked to the architects about the plans.

 

I'm not talking to Ian at the moment - I'm so angry with him.

 

She's always talking about her boyfriend.

 

We need to talk with the manager about this.

 

 

tell

 

sb about sth

 

The suppliers told us about the delay.

 

 

 

worry

 

 

about sth/sb

 

 

I'm worried about Natalie; she seems unhappy.

 


Note that

  1. People often make mistakes with the verbs marked * above and others that function in a similar way. This is the correct way to use these verbs:


He explained us the problem. red x, red cross

 

He explained the problem (to us). green check mark, tick mark

 

Can you describe me the car? red x, red cross

 

Can you describe the car (to me)?  green check mark, tick mark

 

They delivered the company the parcel.  red x, red cross

 

They delivered the parcel (to the company). green check mark, tick mark

 

She demonstrated the audience the new model.  red x, red cross

 

She demonstrated the new model (to the audience). green check mark, tick mark

 

 

Note that if it is obvious from the context, it isn't necessary to mention 'to sb'.

           However, there are verbs with two correct structures. Here are some examples:

He gave David the report.

Or            

He gave the report to David/him.


I'll send you the information as soon as possible.

Or

I'll send the information (to you) as soon as possible.


She showed the audience the new model.

Or

She showed the new model (to the audience). 


        2.  We do not use 'to' in English with 'ask sb' or 'answer sb or sth':

I asked to my assistant why she was late. red x, red cross

I asked my assistant why she was late.  green check mark, tick mark


Can I ask to you a question? red x, red cross

Can I ask you a question? green check mark, tick mark


She answered to all his questions.  red x, red cross

He doesn't like answering his emails. green check mark, tick mark


=====Making comparisons =====


Note the different prepositions with these expressions: 


Japan is different from/to/than Germany.


'from' - the most common.

'to' - used more in the UK than the US.

'than' - used more in the US than the UK.

 


My car is the same as yours.

This building is similar to that one.

 


See also gerunds and infinitives and phrasal verbs.


=====To depend on=====

'To depend' is conjugated in the same way as other verbs and is followed by 'on' plus a noun:

 

It depends on the weather.  green check mark, tick mark

It's depend of the weather.   red x, red cross

                                                                                                 

We're going to use either the boardroom or the conference room - it'll depend on the number of people who come.

 

For me, getting to work on time in my last job always depended on the traffic.

Depending on my workload, I'd like to see you next week.

 

Note that the preposition isn't always necessary. Here are some guidelines:

 

 

With these words

 

Examples

 

If

 

No preposition

 

 

"Shall we go out tomorrow?"

 

"It depends on if it rains or not."

 

 

Whether

 

The preposition is possible but not necessary

 

"Shall we go out tomorrow?"

 

"It depends (on) whether it rains or not."

 

 

What, when, where, which, why, who, how

 

The preposition is possible but not necessary

 

"Shall we go out tomorrow?"

 

"It depends (on) where you want to go and what you want to do."

 

 


=====Expressions with in, on, and at=====

These prepositions can be used in expressions which are not about time, physical places or movement. Here are some examples:

 

Preposition

Use/expression

Examples

 

in

 

in a film/a book

 

 

in love

 

in time

 

 

in bed

 

in general

 

Robert de Niro is in comedies as well as gangster movies.

I love the characters in Lord of the Rings.

 

They fell in love at first sight.

 

We didn't arrive in time to see Richard at the party - he left before we got there.

 

At weekends, he stays in bed till 10.00.

 

He's occasionally late for meetings but, in general, he's quite reliable.

 

 

on

 

on the phone

 

on a number

 

 

on duty

 

on tv/radio

 

 

on a cd/dvd

 

 

 

on a hard drive

 

 

on the internet/a website

 

 

on time

 

Sorry, he can't see you; he's on the phone to a client.

 

Could you ask him to call me back on 020 7513 0513020 7513 0513? [at + phone number in US]

 

I'll be on duty at the hospital until 8 o'clock.

 

Some people think there's too much violence on tv.

The news is on at 9 o'clock.

 

I think you'll like the songs on this cd.

I missed the last James Bond film at the cinema so I'm

going to watch it on dvd.

 

Don't worry - all the information is stored on the hard drive.

 

Some children spend too much time on the internet.

There's a lot of useful information on our website.

I read it on Wikipedia.

 

I want to start the meeting on time so please don't be late.

 

 

at

 

at once

 

at ease

 

at first

 

at last

 

 

at all

 

 

Let's start at once - we don't have much time.

 

I like the new manager. I felt at ease when I met him.

 

At first, the new system was confusing but it's easy now.

 

We waited an hour for the bus. When it arrived at last, it was full!

 

We don't have any more printer paper at all.

I don't understand the instructions at all.

 

 

See also phrasal verbs, prepositions of place and get.

 


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