Prepositions after expressions
Introduction
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
'responsible' is an adjective, not a noun, so:
I'm a responsible of IT.
I'm an IT manager.
'specialise' is a verb and 'specialist' is a noun so:
I'm specialise/specialised in pharmaceutical research.
I specialise in pharmaceutical research.
I'm a specialist in pharmaceutical research.
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
|
"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
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.
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
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.
| He explained the problem (to us).
|
Can you describe me the car?
| Can you describe the car (to me)?
|
They delivered the company the parcel.
| They delivered the parcel (to the company).
|
She demonstrated the audience the new model.
| She demonstrated the new model (to the audience).
|
| 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.
I asked my assistant why she was late.
Can I ask to you a question?
Can I ask you a question?
She answered to all his questions.
He doesn't like answering his emails.
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.
It's depend of the weather.
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
|
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 0513
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.
