Verb + Preposition Combinations

Verbs + About

The following verbs are commonly used with "about". Each verb + about combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be about something - That book is about his experiences in Africa.
• argue about (doing) something - The boys argued about which bus to take.
• be concerned about (doing) something - I'm concerned about your grades.
• be worried about (doing) something - She is worried about her exams.
• boast about (doing) something - Thomas boasted about his golfing ability.
• decide about (doing) something - Anna decided about her goals.
• dream about (doing) something - Mark dreams about becoming a ballet dancer.
• protest about (doing) something - The students protested about the invasion.

Verbs + Against

The following verbs are commonly used with "against". Each verb + against combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be against something / someone - I am against the new regulation.
• insure something against something - We insured our house against storm damage.
• protest against (doing) something - The students are protesting against the invasion.

Verbs + At

The following verbs are commonly used with "at". Each verb + at combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be at something - The exhibition is at the modern art gallery.
• glance at something - Can I glance at that for a moment?
• guess at something - She guessed at the answer.
• hint at something - My mom hinted at my present.
• marvel at something - I marvel at your math abilities.

Verbs + For

The following verbs are commonly used with "for". Each verb + for combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be for something / someone - I'm for Mayor Martini.
• account for something - That accounts for his success.
• allow for something - I think you need to allow for misunderstandings.
• apologize for something / someone - Jackson apologized for his rude behavior.
• blame someone for (doing) something - I blame Janet for the broken pottery.
• care for (doing) something / someone - He doesn't care for playing golf.
• charge someone for (doing) something - The accountant charged him $400 for his advice.
• count for something - Your good marks count for 50% of your grade.
• earmark something for a use - Congress earmarked $6 million for safety improvements.
• pay for someone / something - Let me pay for Tom.

Verbs + From

The following verbs are commonly used with "from". Each verb + from combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• bar someone from (doing) something - Jack has barred Jennifer from visiting his daughter.
• bar someone from a place - The police barred Peter from the shopping mall.
• benefit from (doing) something - Students benefit from listening to news reports on the radio.
• derive something from something - He derived the meaning from the context of the sentence.
• deter someone from (doing) something - Please deter your children from walking across busy avenues.
• differ from something - Our cheese differs from our competitor's cheese because of its superior quality.
• distinguish one thing from another thing - I'm afraid he can't distinguish a British accent from a Irish accent.
• distract someone from something - Please distract Tim from the television.
• exempt someone from (doing) something - The judge exempted the young man from doing extra community service.
• expel someone from a place - The children were expelled form school for their bad behavior.
• refrain from (doing) something - Nancy refrains from smoking at work.
• resign from (doing) something - Jacques resigned from his position.
• result from (doing) something - The unrest results from our politicians lack of seriousness about the situation.
• stem from (doing) something - The poor results stem from his lack of experience.
• suffer from (doing) something - He will suffer from studying too little.

Verbs + In

The following verbs are commonly used with "in". Each verb + about in combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be absorbed in (doing) something - Peter was absorbed in reading his book.
• confide in someone - I confided in Tom my desire to find a new job.
• be engrossed in (doing) something - I surprised Jane who was engrossed in watching TV.
• implicate someone in (doing) something - The boss implicated Peter in the crime.
• involve someone in (doing) something - You should involve your children in physical activities.
• result in something - His decision resulted in increased profits.
• specialize in (doing) something - My daughter specializes in teaching physics.
• succeed in (doing) something - Jane succeeded in getting a new job.

Verbs + Of

The following verbs are commonly used with "of". Each verb + of combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• accuse someone of (doing) something - His mother accused him of eating the entire cake.
• convict someone of (doing) something - Johnson was convicted of armed robbery.
• remind someone of (doing) something / someone - Peter reminded me of Tom.
• suspect someone of (doing) something - The police suspect Agnes of breaking into the bank.

Verbs + On

The following verbs are commonly used with "on". Each verb + on combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• be on something / someone - She is on Peter to do his best.
• base something on something - I base my conclusions on market research.
• blame something on someone - She blames the lack of interest on the teacher's poor explanation.
• concentrate something on (doing) something - They concentrate their efforts on improving the infrastructure.
• congratulate someone on (doing) something - Tom congratulated Lisa on getting her diploma.
• decide on something - I've decided to get a new job.
• depend on someone / (doing) something - We depend on our customers' suggestions.
• elaborate on (doing) something - Can you elaborate on the process?
• impose on someone - The mother imposed severe restrictions on her daughter.
• insist on something / someone doing something - I insist on Peter's studying every day for two hours.
• pride oneself on (doing) something - I like to pride myself on my ability to concentrate.

Verbs + To

The following verbs are commonly used with "to". Each verb + to combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• answer to someone - I answer to Ms Smith.
• appeal to someone - Let me appeal to you for your help in this matter.
• apply oneself to (doing) something - I think you should apply yourself to getting a degree.
• apply to something - He applied glue to the board.
• attend to (doing) something - Chris attended to doing the grocery shopping.
• attribute something to someone - Professor Samson attributes this painting to Leonardo.
• be resigned to (doing) something - I'm resigned to not having any success in that field.
• commit oneself to (doing) something - She committed herself to finding a new job.
• confess to (doing) something - The boy confessed to stealing the apple.
• devote oneself to (doing) something - I'm going to devote myself to playing the piano after I retire.
• prefer one thing to another thing - I prefer roast potatoes to French fries.
• react to something - He reacted poorly to the news.
• refer to (doing) something - Please refer to your notes.
• refer someone to someone - I referred Ken to Doctor Jones.
• resort to (doing) something - Please don't resort to violence.
• see to (doing) something - I'll see to those chores.
• subject someone to (doing) something - She subjected her daughter to swimming lessons.

Verbs + With

The following verbs are commonly used with "with". Each verb + with combination includes an example sentence to provide context.

• acquaint someone with something - I acquainted Mary with French cuisine.
• associate something with (doing) someone - Susan associates chocolate with childhood.
• be faced with (doing) something - She's faced with working overtime this weekend.
• charge someone with (doing) something - The officer charged Mr Smith with blackmail.
• clutter with something - The room was cluttered with paper.
• coincide with something - My birthday coincides with a national holiday.
• collide with something - The car collided with a truck and blocked traffic.
• comply with something - He complies with each and every order.
• confront someone with something - I confronted Vivian with the evidence.
• confuse someone / something with someone / something - I'm afraid I confused you with someone else.
• cram with something - My closed is crammed with dirty clothes!
• deal with someone / (doing) something - I can't deal with so much overtime.
• discuss something with someone - I'd like to discuss our next conference with the boss.
• ingratiate oneself with someone - Ingratiate yourself with the headmaster and your life with be easy!
• meet with something - The congressman met with strong opposition to his plan.
• pack with something - Peter packed his case with extra brochures.
• plead with someone - He plead with his teacher to give him one more chance.
• provide someone with something - The instructor provided the students with a number of examples.
• tamper with something - Do not tamper with this equipment.
• trust someone with something - I trust Bob with all of my financial information.

More Preposition Resources

• Adjectives and Prepositions
• Nouns and Prepositions
• Confusing Preposition Pairs
• Prepositional Phrases
• How to Arrange Prepositional Phrases