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Verbs with Prepositions – English Grammar

Many verbs used in English without an object are typically followed by a phrase with a preposition. Some verbs are followed by a specific preposition: belong to, consist of, happen to, hint at, hope f

1. Many verbs used in English without an object are typically followed by a phrase with a preposition. Some verbs are followed by a specific preposition:

belong to, consist of, happen to, hint at, hope for, insist on, lead to, listen to, pay for, qualify for, refer to, relate to, sympathize with.

2. With other verbs used in English without an object, the choice of a different preposition can change the meaning of the simple sentence, which is part of a complex compound/coordinated construction:

agree on/with, apologize for/to, appeal to/for, care about/of, complain to somebody about/of, conform to/with, remind about/of, result from/in, suffer from/with, think about/of.

Sample exercise on this topic at Kabinata.com.

3. With verbs used in English without an object, different prepositions are used to present different types of information:

A. 'About' indicates the meaning of the object:

care, complain, do, dream, explain, hear, know, speak, talk, think, write.

B. 'At' means direction:

glance, glare, grin, laugh, look, point, shoot, shout, smile, stare

C. 'For' means purpose or reason:

apologize, apply, ask, leave, look, search, wait.

D. 'Into' indicates an object involved in a collision/contradiction:

bump, crash, drive, run.

E. 'Of' indicates facts or pieces of information:

hear, know, speak, talk, think.

F. 'On' indicates confidence or certainty:

congratulate, count, depend, plan, rely.

G. 'To' means the listener or reader:

complain, explain, listen, say, speak, talk, write.

H. 'With' indicates someone whose opinion is the same or different:

agree, argue, disagree, side.

4. Some verbs used in English with an object are also followed by a preposition.

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