This lesson is about which propositions collocate correctly with which words belonging to different word classes.

When learning new vocabulary, whether verbs, nouns or adjectives, it is important to also learn the preposition the word collocates with. This is key to using the word correctly, rather than simply knowing the definition.

Activity

In pairs or groups, review the words and prepositions below. Discuss, and try to identify any patterns in the words that collocate with a particular preposition. Do any groups of words have similar meanings?

You will find that some groups have very similar meanings, yet others have no particular pattern. How could this help you to remember the words?

Verb + preposition

Verb Prepositionh
care, complain, hear, know, learn, say something, talk, think, warn, wonder, worry, write about
aim, fire, laugh, look, point, shout, yell at
choose, decide, differentiate, distinguish between
aim, apologise, apply, forgive, hope, long, prepare, search, wait, watch, wish for
learn, prevent, stop from
assure, convince of
concentrate, count, depend, insist, rely on
apologise, explain, present, speak, talk, write to
be, deal, go out, play, stay with

Adjective + preposition

Adjective Preposition
anxious, annoyed, concerned, depressed, excited, upset, worried about
amazed, annoyed, astonished, awful, bad, clever, excited, good, skilled, surprised, terrible, useless at
amazed, annoyed, astonished, concerned, disturbed, excited, impressed, inspired, shocked, surprised by
bad, concerned, good, responsible for
disappointed, interested in
frightened, scared, terrified of
aware, clever, cruel, generous, good, kind, mean, nasty, nice, polite, rude, selfish, true, typical, unkind of
cruel, good, kind, mean, nasty, nice, polite, rude, unkind to
annoyed, bored, concerned, disappointed, fed up, impressed, obsessed, pleased, satisfied, wrong with

Noun + preposition

Noun Preposition
anything, information, nothing, something about
excuse, explanation, ideas, in return, need, reasons, reputation, responsibility for
change, decrease, drop, experience, fall, increase, size in
experience, knowledge, understanding of
effect, impact, influence on
in association, experience with

Exercise

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