Dependent prepositions
B1 43 / 50
In short
Many verbs, adjectives and nouns are always followed by one fixed preposition (depend on, good at, a reason for). There is usually no logical rule, so you learn each word together with its preposition as a single chunk.
The rule
Some words pull a particular preposition after them. This preposition is not chosen for its own meaning - it simply “belongs” to the word, which is why we call it a dependent preposition.
- Verbs: depend on, listen to, wait for, belong to, agree with, apologise for, believe in, concentrate on, succeed in.
- Adjectives: good/bad at, interested in, afraid/scared of, keen on, proud of, married to, similar to, different from, responsible for, worried about.
- Nouns: a reason for, an increase in, the answer to, a solution to.
Two important points:
- After a preposition, a verb takes the -ing form (the gerund), never the bare infinitive: interested in learning, good at cooking, instead of waiting. This is about a following verb; if a whole question clause (what, why, how, whether…) follows the preposition, that clause keeps its normal verb: It depends on what the manager decides. (More on -ing vs to in lesson 27.)
- Some words take different prepositions for different meanings. This often overlaps with phrasal verbs (lesson 29): look at (point your eyes), look for (try to find), look after (take care of); think about (consider), think of (have an opinion / an idea); arrive at (a place/building), arrive in (a town/country).
These pairings rarely match your first language, so do not translate them - memorise the chunk.
Forms & patterns
| Pattern | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| verb + prep + noun | She depends on her sister. | help, support |
| verb + prep + -ing | He apologised for being late. | not “for be late” |
| adjective + prep + noun | I’m worried about the exam. | feeling |
| adjective + prep + -ing | They’re keen on travelling. | enthusiasm |
| noun + prep + noun | There’s a reason for the delay. | cause |
| noun + prep + -ing | The key to passing is practice. | gerund after to here |
| verb/adjective + prep + clause | I’m worried about why she left. | a clause, so not -ing |
Watch out: when to is a preposition (as in look forward to, the answer to), the next verb is -ing: I look forward to meeting you. When to is part of an infinitive (want to go), it takes the base verb. Compare the two in lesson 27.
Examples
| English | Note |
|---|---|
| Success depends on hard work, not luck. | verb + on + noun |
| Please listen to your teacher carefully. | not “listen me” - to is required |
| We waited for the bus for twenty minutes. | wait for, not “wait” alone |
| Maria is really good at drawing cartoons. | adjective + at + -ing |
| I’m interested in learning Japanese next year. | preposition + gerund |
| He apologised for forgetting my birthday. | for + -ing, not “for forget” |
| Can you look after my cat this weekend? | look after = take care of |
| I spent an hour looking for my keys. | look for = try to find (different meaning) |
| There must be a reason for the price increase. | noun + for |
| Your phone is quite similar to mine. | adjective + to |
Common mistakes
- depend of -> depend on - the verb fixes on, never of.
- good in maths -> good at maths - skills and abilities take at.
- interested in to travel -> interested in travelling - a verb after a preposition must be -ing.
- different than / different to -> different from - standard B1 form is from (BrE also accepts to, but learn from).
- married with -> married to - you are married to a person, not with.
- listen the radio / wait the bus -> listen to the radio, wait for the bus - don’t drop the preposition.
Tips
- Keep a personal list: write each new word with its preposition and a full example sentence. Learn them as three-word chunks: “afraid-of-spiders”, “responsible-for-sales”.
- After any preposition, a verb is -ing (a what / why / how / whether clause keeps its own verb). If you can replace a word with a noun, an -ing form fits there too: good at chess -> good at playing chess.
- When a word has two prepositions, the preposition usually signals the meaning (look after vs look for) - check lesson 29 on phrasal verbs.
- Don’t assume your language uses the same preposition - it almost never does. Trust the chunk, not the translation.