Prepositions Following Verbs and Adjectives

Some verbs and adjectives are followed by a certain preposition. Sometimes verbs and adjectives can be followed by different prepositions, giving the phrase different meanings.

Some Common Verb + Preposition Combinations

About: worry, complain, read

• He worries about the future.
• She complained about the homework.
• I read about the flooding in the city.

At: arrive (a building or event), smile, look

• He arrived at the airport 2 hours early.
• The children smiled at her.
• She looked at him.

From: differ, suffer

• The results differ from my original idea.
• She suffers from dementia.

For: account, allow, search

• Be sure to account for any discrepancies.
• I returned the transcripts to the interviewees to allow for revisions to be made.
• They are searching for the missing dog.

In: occur, result, succeed

• The same problem occurred in three out of four cases.
• My recruitment strategies resulted in finding 10 participants.
• She will succeed in completing her degree.

Of: approve, consist, smell

• I approve of the idea.
• The recipe consists of three basic ingredients.
• The basement smells of mildew.

On: concentrate, depend, insist

• He is concentrating on his work.
• They depend on each other.
• I must insist on following this rule.

To: belong, contribute, lead, refer

• Bears belong to the family of mammals.
• I hope to contribute to the previous research.
• My results will lead to future research on the topic.
• Please refer to my previous explanation.

With: (dis)agree, argue, deal

• I (dis)agree with you.
• She argued with him.
• They will deal with the situation.

Although verb + preposition combinations appear similar to phrasal verbs, the verb and the particle (in this case, the preposition) in these combinations cannot be separated like phrasal verbs.

Some Common Adjective + Preposition Combinations