Preposition Combinations

Preposition combinations appear frequently and must be learned “by heart.” There is no rule or reason why these words go together…

they just do!

In fact, word collocations and preposition combinations are extremely important at the proficiency level of the English language.

The importance of collocations and combinations at the proficiency level can’t be emphasized enough! Learning them will help you in every section of the exam.

The following combinations always appear together.

It’s a very good idea to know them. ; – )

Verb – Preposition Combinations

Agree on (something)	We agree on that issue.
Agree with (a person)	I agree with you in that matter.
Approve of	Betty approves of exercising.
Arrive at OR in	They arrived in Tokyo last night. Have you arrived at a decision?
Complain about	Please do not complain about the color.
Consent to	She consented to her daughter’s marriage.
Comment on	She commented on his haircut.
Consist of	Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.
Depend on	I am depending on you to help me.
Laugh at	We laughed at his silly shirt.
Object to	Do you object to my smoking?
Succeed in	He succeeded in making everyone angry.

Some verb preposition combinations take two objects.

Compare… with OR to	Why compare me with ( OR to) my brother?
Excuse… for	I cannot excuse you for being late.
Prefer… to	She prefers juice to milk.
She prefers juice to milk.	She reminded me of my appointment.
Thank… for	I thanked him for letting me use his bike.

Adjective – preposition combinations with verb “be.”

Prepositions in fixed phrases.

Be afraid of	Jake is afraid of dogs.
Be accustomed to	I was accustomed to seeing her every day.
Be aware of	Are you aware of this problem?
Be bored with	George is bored with backgammon.
Be certain of	He cannot be certain of the date.
Be disappointed with	Susan was disappointed with her meal.
Be familiar with	Is Doctor Jones familiar with that new pill?
Be famous for	Michigan is famous for its Great Lakes.
Be frightened by	Don’t be frightened by the dog, he won’t bite.
Be happy with	The Smith’s are very happy with their new car.
Be in favor of	Are you in favor of abortion?
Be interested in	John is interested in anthropology.
Be opposed to	He is really opposed to buying a new car.
Be satisfied with	He is not satisfied with his new school.
Be surprised at (or) by	I was surprised by his behavior.
Be tired of	Luke is tired of working for a living.
Be worried about	Mark is very worried about his sick mother.

Prepositions in fixed phrases.

According to	According to the news, it will rain tonight.
Along with	Can you take this bottle along with these cans, to the recycle bin?
As well as	I enjoy physics as well as math.
Because of	Because of the strike, there will be no buses today.
By means of	The child entered the yard by means of an open gate.
By way of	John went to Paris by way of London.
In addition to	In addition to studying ballet full-time, Patricia works part-time.
In case of	In case of fire, break glass and pull alarm.
In consideration of	In consideration of all your hard work I would like to take you to dinner.
In contrast to (or) with	In contrast to last summer, this summer is quite cool.
In deference to	In deference to her age, we did not argue with her
In hopes of	We came here in hopes of meeting the famous musician.
In lieu of	He gave an oral report in lieu of the written exam.
In pursuit of	The business is in pursuit of excellence.
In search of	They went into the cave in search of lost treasure
In spite of	In spite of his good intentions, he did not study much or do well on the exam.
In the face of	In the face of a severe drought, conservation measures needed to be adopted.
In terms of	He was a good teacher in terms of getting his students to pass their exams.

For a list of common prepositions and some of the most common prepositional phrases click on preposition combinations.

Also, you should go to my other web site called Advanced English Grammar. It has many, many pages of prepositions and their combinations plus free exercises to test and increase your knowledge of English grammar.