Dependent prepositions
Fixed prepositions after verbs, adjectives and nouns (depend on, good at, afraid of, the reason for).
Dependent prepositions are the fixed prepositions that English requires after particular verbs, adjectives and nouns, and they must be learned as whole chunks because they almost never match the Azerbaijani equivalent word for word. After certain verbs the preposition is fixed: depend on, rely on, listen to, belong to, apologise for, succeed in, insist on, accuse someone of, congratulate someone on, remind someone of. After many adjectives the preposition is also fixed: good/bad at, afraid/scared of, interested in, proud of, keen on, fond of, similar to, responsible for, worried about, famous for, full of. Even nouns have favourite prepositions: the reason for, a solution to, an increase in, the cause of, an answer to, interest in. The tricky part is that one English word can take different prepositions with different meanings (good at maths vs good for you; agree with a person vs agree to a plan), so context decides the choice. Note also that after any preposition a verb must be in the -ing form. For example: 'She is very good at chess and never gets bored of practising.'
Key terms
| Word + preposition | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| depend / rely on | Verb | You can always rely on Sara to keep a secret. |
| belong to | Verb | This old bicycle belongs to my grandfather. |
| apologise for | Verb | He apologised for being late to the meeting. |
| succeed in | Verb | After years of hard work, she succeeded in her goal. |
| accuse (someone) of | Verb | The police accused the young man of stealing a car. |
| good at | Adjective | She is good at solving problems quickly. |
| interested in | Adjective | She is interested in becoming a doctor. |
| afraid of | Adjective | She has always been afraid of speaking in public. |
| the reason for | Noun | Nobody knows the reason for his sudden departure. |
| a solution to | Noun | Engineers are searching for a solution to the traffic problem. |
| Preposition | Common words |
|---|---|
| in | interested, succeed, believe, increase, interest |
| of | afraid, proud, fond, capable, full, accuse, remind, the cause |
| on | depend, rely, keen, insist, congratulate |
| for | wait, apologise, responsible, famous, the reason |
| to | listen, belong, similar, respond, a solution, an answer |
| about | worried |
- 1The sentence: Decide the preposition: 'I completely ___ you about the new school rules.' / 'The committee finally ___ the new proposal.'
- 2With a person: When you side with a PERSON, use agree with: 'I completely agree with you.'
- 3With a proposal: When you accept a plan or proposal, use agree to: 'The committee agreed to the new proposal.'
- 4On a shared detail: When a group settles a jointly decided detail, use agree on: 'At the meeting we agreed on a new logo.'
- 1The sentence: Complete: 'She is interested ___ a doctor and good ___ facts.'
- 2Fix the prepositions: The adjective 'interested' takes in; 'good' (a skill) takes at: interested in, good at.
- 3Apply the -ing rule: After a preposition the verb must be -ing, never to + infinitive: interested in becoming, good at remembering.
- 4Full answer: 'She is interested in becoming a doctor and good at remembering facts.'
'Depend' and 'rely' are never followed by 'of' or 'in' — the fixed preposition is always 'on': depend on, rely on.
Do not say 'similar with', 'full with' or 'responsible with'. The fixed pairs are similar to, full of and responsible for.
After a preposition use the -ing form, not the infinitive: say 'insist on coming' and 'afraid of speaking', never 'insist to come' or 'afraid to speak'.
These are fixed combinations to memorise as chunks, because they rarely match the word-for-word translation. Watch meaning pairs: good at a skill but good for your health; remind someone of a memory but remind someone about a future task.
Rules
- 1Verbs with fixed prepositions: depend/rely ON, listen/belong TO, wait/apologise FOR, succeed/believe IN, agree WITH, accuse someone OF.
- 2Adjectives with fixed prepositions: good/bad AT, afraid/proud/fond OF, interested IN, keen ON, worried/anxious ABOUT, responsible FOR, similar TO.
- 3Nouns with fixed prepositions: the reason FOR, a solution/answer TO, an increase/interest IN, the cause OF, an advantage OF.
- 4Always use the -ing form of a verb after a preposition: 'interested in learning', 'afraid of failing', 'good at cooking'.
- 5Watch meaning-based pairs: agree WITH a person but agree TO a proposal; good AT a skill but good FOR your health.
Practice
15 easy · 15 medium · 15 hard
10 random questions per test