Prepositions after Verbs (List) - My English Grammar

Choosing the right preposition after a verb can be surprisingly tricky, even for confident English learners. We “agree on” a plan, “dream of” success, “apologise for” mistakes, and “wait for” a reply—change the preposition and the meaning often changes too. This article gathers common verb + preposition combinations in one place, with clear example sentences to show how they work in real life. Use it as a quick reference when speaking, writing, or preparing for exams. With regular practice, these patterns will start to feel natural and automatic.

1. ABOUT

care about – She really cares about her family.
complain about / of / to – He complained about the noise outside. (also: complained of a headache; complained to the manager)
do something about – We must do something about this problem.
dream about / of – I often dream about travelling the world.
speak about / against – They spoke about the new policy at the meeting.
hear about / from / of – Have you heard about the new restaurant? (also: heard from him; heard of that singer)
read about – I read about climate change in the newspaper.
remind somebody about / of – Please remind me about the meeting tomorrow.
talk about / to – We talked about our plans for the weekend.
tell somebody about – She told me about her new job.
think about / of – I’m thinking about my future.
walk about – They walked about the town all afternoon.
warn about / of – He warned us about the slippery floor.
write about – She writes about history on her blog.

2. ACROSS

swim across – They swam across the river.
walk across – We walked across the bridge.

3. AFTER

crave after / for – He craved after fame and success. (also: craved for sweets)
hanker after – She hankers after a simple life in the countryside.
look after / at / for / in – She looks after her younger brother every day. (also: look at the board; look for your keys; look in the drawer)
run after – The dog ran after the ball.

4. AGAINST

fight against – They fought against injustice.
hit against – He hit his head against the door.
lean against – She leaned against the wall.
offend against – His actions offended against the law.
speak against / about – He spoke against the proposal. (also: spoke about the issue)
struggle against – They are struggling against corruption.
vote against – Many people voted against the new law.

5. AMONG

divide among – They divided the money among the three children.
quarrel among – The brothers often quarrel among themselves.
share among – The profit was shared among the workers.

6. AT

aim at – He aimed at the target and fired.
arrive at – We arrived at the station early.
fire (a gun) at – The soldier fired at the enemy.
glance at – She glanced at her watch.
have a look at – Have a look at this picture.
hint at – He hinted at a possible promotion.
jeer at – The crowd jeered at the losing team.
laugh at – Don’t laugh at other people’s mistakes.
look at / for / after / in – Look at the board, please. (also: look for a job; look after the baby; look in the mirror)
point at – She pointed at the map.
shoot at – They were shooting at the target.
shout at / to / out – He shouted at the driver to stop. (also: shouted to me across the street; shouted out in surprise)
smile at / on – She smiled at the child.
stare at – They stared at the painting in silence.
throw at / to – He threw the ball at the wall. (also: threw the ball to his friend)
wait at – I’ll wait at the entrance.
wink at – He winked at his friend.

7. BESIDE

sit beside – She sat beside her mother.

8. BY

abide by – We must abide by the rules.
live by – He lives by strict principles.

9. DOWN

burn down – The old house burned down.
cut down – They cut down the tree.
fall down – The child fell down on the playground.
lie down – I’m going to lie down for a while.
put down – Please put down your phone.
sit down – We sat down at the table.

10. FOR

aim for – We aim for the highest quality.
answer for / to – You will answer for your actions. (also: answer to the manager)
apologize for / to – He apologized for his mistake. (also: apologized to her)
apply for / to – She applied for a new job. (also: applied to a university)
ask for / of – He asked for more time. (also: asked a favour of me)
blame for / on – They blamed him for the accident. (also: blamed the accident on him)
call for – This situation calls for immediate action.
care for – She cares for her elderly parents.
crave for / after – I’m craving for chocolate. (also: craving after excitement)
forgive somebody for – Please forgive me for being late.
leave for – They left for London yesterday.
look for / at / after / in – I’m looking for my glasses.
pay for – We paid for the tickets online.
punish for – He was punished for cheating.
search for – The police searched for the missing child.
thank somebody for – She thanked him for his help.
wait for – We waited for the bus for an hour.
yearn for – She yearns for peace and quiet.

11. FROM

absolve from – He was absolved from all blame.
abstain from – She abstains from smoking.
come from – He comes from Spain.
differ from / with – Her opinion differs from mine. (also: differs with him on that point)
escape from – The prisoner escaped from jail.
hear from / about / of – I haven’t heard from her in weeks.
hide from – The cat hid from the dog.
prevent from – The rain prevented us from playing outside.
prohibit from – They were prohibited from entering the building.
protect somebody/thing from – This cream protects your skin from the sun.
recover from – He is recovering from an illness.
run away from – The boy ran away from home.
suffer from – She suffers from allergies.

12. IN

assist in / with – She assists in the training program. (also: assists with the reports)
believe in – Do you believe in ghosts?
deal in / with – The shop deals in rare books. (also: deals with many suppliers)
excel in – She excels in mathematics.
live in – They live in a small village.
fill in – Please fill in this form.
glory in – He gloried in his team’s victory.
retire in – They plan to retire in Spain.
involve (oneself) in – He involved himself in local politics.
look in / after / at / for – I’ll look in on you later to see how you are. (also: look after the kids; look at the page; look for your wallet)
send in – Please send in your application by Friday.
specialize in – The company specializes in software design.
spend time in – We spent a week in Paris.
succeed in – She succeeded in passing the exam.
swim in – They swam in the lake.
work in – He works in a bank.

13. INTO

break into / off / with – Thieves broke into the house. (also: broke off the discussion; broke with tradition)
bump into – I bumped into an old friend yesterday.
burst into – She burst into tears.
come into – She came into a large inheritance.
crash into – The car crashed into a tree.
cut into – He cut into the cake.
dive into – They dived into the pool.
divide into – The class was divided into four groups.
drive into – He drove into the garage.
fall into – She fell into the river.
fly into – The bird flew into the room.
jump into – He jumped into the water.
pour it into – Pour the milk into the glass.
put it into – She put the letter into her bag.
run into – We ran into heavy traffic.
split into – The cell splits into two parts.
turn into – The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.

14. OF

accuse of – They accused him of stealing the money.
approve of – Her parents don’t approve of smoking.
ask of / for – That’s a lot to ask of a child. (also: ask for help)
beware of – Beware of the dog.
break (oneself) of – He’s trying to break himself of the habit of biting his nails.
complain of / about / to – She complained of a sore throat. (also: complained about the service; complained to the waiter)
consist of – The committee consists of ten members.
despair of – They despaired of ever finding a solution.
die of – He died of a heart attack.
divest (one’s mind) of – Try to divest your mind of negative thoughts.
dream of / about – I often dream of winning the lottery.
hear of / about / from – I’ve never heard of that band.
made of – This table is made of wood.
remind (someone) of – That song reminds me of my childhood.
repent of – He repented of his lies.
suspect of – She was suspected of fraud.
take care of – She takes care of her grandparents.
think of / about – What do you think of this idea?
warn of / about – They warned us of the danger ahead.
run out of – We ran out of milk.

15. OFF

break off / into / with – They decided to break off the engagement.
fall off – The picture fell off the wall.
finish off – Let’s finish off this project today.
get off / on – We got off the bus at the next stop. (also: get on the bus)
leave off – You can leave off the last page.
set off – We set off early in the morning.
switch off / on – Please switch off the lights.
turn off / on – He turned off the TV.

16. ON

blame on / for – They blamed the accident on the driver. (also: blamed the driver for the accident)
call on – I’ll call on you tomorrow.
carry on – Please carry on with your work.
comment on – She commented on the new design.
compliment somebody on – He complimented her on her presentation.
concentrate on – You should concentrate on your studies.
congratulate somebody on – We congratulated him on his promotion.
decide on – They decided on a blue colour for the walls.
get on / off – She got on the train just in time.
insist on – He insisted on paying the bill.
live on – They live on very little money.
put it on – Put on your coat; it’s cold.
rely on – You can rely on me.
smile on / at – Luck smiled on us that day. (also: smiled at us)
spend (money) on – He spends too much money on clothes.
stand on – The cat is standing on the table.
switch on / off – Switch on the computer.
turn on / off – She turned on the radio.
urge a fact on – He urged this fact on the committee.

17. OUT

blow out – She blew out the candles.
come out – The sun came out after the rain.
find out – We need to find out the truth.
leave out – Don’t leave out any details.
look out – Look out! A car is coming!
pick out – She picked out a dress for the party.
shout out / at / to – He shouted out in pain. (also: shouted at the player; shouted to his friend)
throw it out – You can throw out those old papers.

18. OVER

fall over – He tripped and fell over.
jump over – The horse jumped over the fence.
knock over – She knocked over the cup of coffee.

19. PAST

walk past – We walked past the museum.

20. THROUGH

see through – I can see through his lies.

21. TO

accede to – They acceded to his request.
agree to / with – She agreed to the plan. (also: agreed with him)
answer to / for – You answer to me, not to them. (also: answer for your behaviour)
apologize to / for – He apologized to her immediately. (also: apologized for the mistake)
apply to / for – She applied to the university. (also: applied for a scholarship)
attend to – The nurse attended to the patient.
belong to – This book belongs to me.
break (bad news) to – I had to break the bad news to him.
bring to – Bring the book to me.
complain to / about / of – She complained to the manager.
correspond to / with – The results correspond to our expectations. (also: correspond with customers)
describe to – She described the scene to the police.
explain to – He explained the rules to the class.
force to – No one forced you to come.
forget to – Don’t forget to lock the door.
go to – We’re going to the cinema.
happen to – What happened to your car?
hope to – I hope to see you soon.
invite somebody to – They invited us to the party.
jump to – Don’t jump to conclusions.
keep to – Please keep to the path.
like to – I like to read before bed.
listen to – She listened to music all evening.
need to – You need to study harder.
occur to – It never occurred to me to ask.
prefer to – I prefer to stay at home.
promise to – He promised to help me.
reconcile to – She was reconciled to her fate.
reply to – Did you reply to his email?
send it to – Send it to my office, please.
shout to / at / out – He shouted to me from the balcony.
speak to – I need to speak to you.
submit to – They submitted to the court’s decision.
talk to / about – I talked to her yesterday.
try to – He’s trying to learn Spanish.
throw to / at – He threw the ball to his sister.
wish to – I wish to make a complaint.
write to – She writes to her parents every week.
yield to – He finally yielded to their demands.
go out to – We went out to dinner last night.

22. UNDER

crawl under – The cat crawled under the bed.
go under – The company went under last year.
labour under – He labours under a false impression.
stand under – We stood under a tree to avoid the rain.

23. UP

add up – The numbers don’t add up.
catch up – I need to catch up on my work.
clean up – We cleaned up the kitchen.
climb up – They climbed up the hill.
cover up – They tried to cover up the scandal.
dig up – He dug up some old photos.
drive up – They drove up the hill slowly.
get up – I get up at six o’clock.
give up – Don’t give up so easily.
go up – Prices are going up again.
grow up – She grew up in India.
hurry up – Hurry up or we’ll be late.
keep up – Keep up the good work!
lock up – They lock up the shop at night.
look up – Look up the word in the dictionary.
mix up – He mixed up the dates.
pick up – I’ll pick you up at the station.
put up – They put up a new fence.
ring up – I’ll ring you up later.
run up – He ran up a big phone bill.
save up – She’s saving up for a car.
shut up – He told them to shut up.
stay up – We stayed up all night.
tie up – The dog was tied up outside.
turn up – He turned up late again.
wake up – I woke up early today.
walk up – She walked up to the counter.
wash up – I’ll wash up after dinner.

24. UPON

enter upon – He entered upon his duties with enthusiasm.

25. WITH

assist with / in – She assists with the accounts. (also: assists in training)
agree with / to – I agree with you. (also: agreed to the proposal)
break with / into / off – He finally broke with his old habits. (also: broke into a run; broke off negotiations)
collide with – The car collided with a truck.
comply with – We must comply with the regulations.
condole with – They condoled with her on her loss.
correspond with / to – She corresponds with friends overseas.
deal with / in – This book deals with modern art.
differ with / from – I differ with you on that issue.
fill something with – She filled the bottle with water.
overwhelm with – He was overwhelmed with work.
play with – The children are playing with their toys.
provide somebody with – They provided us with food and shelter.
quarrel with – He often quarrels with his brother.
sleep with – The baby sleeps with his favourite toy.
stay with – We stayed with friends during our trip.
supply somebody with – They supplied the army with weapons.

26. WITHOUT

go without – We had to go without electricity for two days.