Verb + Preposition Dictionary

To look up a verb + preposition combination, click a letter in the menu. The following abbreviations are used in this resource:

SO = someone

ST = something

To look up verb + preposition combinations with special idiomatic meanings, try our Phrasal Verb Dictionary

Verb + Prep	Example
account for	He accounted for such problems.
accuse SO of ST	He accused her of stealing the money.
adapt to	They adapted to the new culture.
add SO/ST to SO/ST	She added milk to the grocery list.
add to	Translation problems added to the confusion.
adjust to	They adjusted to their new environment.
admit ST to SO	She admitted her real age to everybody.
admit to	She admitted to cheating on the test.
agree on	We agreed on the price.
agree to	He agreed to the new conditions.
agree with	I agree with you.
apologize to SO for ST	I apologized to her for being rude.
appeal to SO for ST	The nation appealed to the UN for assistance.
approve of	The parents approved of the marriage.
argue with SO about SO/ST	Timmy argued with his father about his curfew.
argue with SO over ST	The customer argued with the salesman over the store's return policy.
arrange for SO (to do something)	They arranged for an interpreter to be present.
arrest SO for ST	The police arrested the man for stealing the car.
arrive at (a place)	They arrived at home.
ask for	She asked for help.

Verb + Prep	Example
base on	The company bases salary on experience.
be absent from (a place)	He was absent from class.
be accustomed to	I am not accustomed to such behavior.
be acquainted with	He is acquainted with many celebrities.
be addicted to ST	He is addicted to heroin.
be afraid of	I am afraid of spiders.
be angry at SO for ST	I am angry at him for what he said.
be angry with SO for ST	I am angry with him for what he said.
be annoyed at SO for ST	He is annoyed at her for spending so much money.
be annoyed with SO for ST	He is annoyed with her for spending so much money.
be anxious about ST	I am anxious about the presentation.
be associated with	He is associated with the company.
be aware of	You are not aware of all the problems.
be blessed with	He is blessed with great musical talent.
be bored by	They were bored to death by his long speech.
be bored with	The interviewers were bored with the repetitive comments.
be capable of ST	He is capable of much more.
be cluttered with ST	The room is clutter with boxes.
be committed to	I am committed to improving my language skills.
be composed of	The meteorite is composed mostly of iron.
be concerned about	I am concerned about his smoking.
be connected to	The DVD player is connected to the TV.
be connected with	They are connected with the project.
be content with	He is content with the results.
be convinced of ST	We are convinced of her innocence.
be coordinated with ST	Testing centers coordinated with the schools to set testing dates.
be crowded in (a building or room)	It is crowded in the auditorium.
be crowded with (people)	The auditorium is crowded with people.
be dedicated to	She is dedicated to improving her grammar skills.
be devoted to	He is devoted to his wife.
be disappointed in	She is disappointed in her son's improvement.
be disappointed with	She is disappointed with her son for not improving.
be discouraged by	He was discouraged by the high costs.
be discouraged from (doing something)	They were discouraged from participating.
be discriminated against	He discriminates against people who are different.
be divorced from SO	Mary is divorced from John.
be done with ST	He is done with the work.
be dressed in	She was dressed in red.
be encouraged with	The staff was encouraged with a profit-sharing program.
be engaged in ST	He was engaged in that research for more than ten years.
be engaged to SO	John was engaged to Mary for six months.
be envious of	I am envious of you for having the opportunity to travel.
be equipped with ST	The expedition is equipped with the latest gear.
be excited about	I am excited about the opportunities.
be exposed to	The workers were exposed to dangerous chemicals.
be faced with	He was faced with many difficult decisions.
be faithful to	They are faithful to their company.
be familiar with	I am familiar with that program.
be famous for	He is famous for climbing Mt. Everest.
be filled with	The boxes are filled with clothes and books.
be finished with	I am finished with my studies.
be fond of	She is fond of her nieces and nephews.
be friendly to SO	He is friendly to new coworkers.
be friendly with SO	He is friendly with new coworkers.
be frightened by	She is frightened by the coyotes calling at night.
be frightened of	The kids are frightened of ghosts.
be furnished with ST	The house is furnished with designer furniture.
be grateful to SO for ST	I am grateful to you for your assistance.
be guilty of ST	He is guilty of the crime.
be happy about ST	I am not happy about the results.
be innocent of ST	He is innocent of the crimes.
be interested in	I am interested in astronomy.
be involved in ST	He is involved in the program.
be involved with	He is involved with many charities.
be jealous of	John is jealous of Mary's close friendship with Tom.
be known for ST	He is know for his humor.
be limited to	The speeches are limited to fifteen minutes each.
be made from ST	The statue is made from old car parts.
be made of (material)	The statue is made of metal.
be married to	She is married to a famous politician.
be opposed to	I am opposed to increasing tuition prices.
be patient with SO	He is patient with his students.
be pleased with	I am pleased with the results.
be polite to SO	She is polite to the visitors.
be prepared for	He is prepared for such questions at the conference.
be protected from	The cave paintings are protected from vandalism.
be proud of	He is proud of his son.
be related to	She is related to the famous artist.
be relevant to	That is not relevant to this conversation.
be remembered for ST	He is remembered for his bravery.
be responsible for	She is responsible for the new policies.
be satisfied with	The teacher is satisfied with the test results.
be scared of	She is scared of snakes.
be terrified of	She is terrified of roaches.
be thankful for	We are thankful for their help.
be tired from (doing something)	He is so tired from jogging.
be tired of (doing something)	He is tired of answering the same questions over and over.
be worried about	I am worried about her.
beg for	They begged for the answer to the riddle.
begin with	Every sentence begins with a capital letter.
believe in	He believes in ghosts.
belong to	I don't belong to that organization.
benefit from	He benefits from the government assistance programs.
blame SO for ST	He blamed his employees for his mistakes.
blame ST on SO	He blamed the company's failure on his employees.
boast about	She boasted about her new Mercedes.
borrow ST from SO	He borrowed money from me.

Verb + Prep	Example
care about	He cares about what his children watch on TV.
care for	He doesn't care for fish.
catch up with	He caught up with her before she got into the elevator.
cater to	The hotel doesn't cater to tour groups.
charge SO for ST	The restaurant didn't charge me for breaking the glass.
charge SO with ST	The police charged him with drunk driving.
choose between SO/ST and SO/ST	The winner got to choose between a vacation to Tahiti and a new car.
chose ST from ST	The magician chose a lady from the audience to help him with the trick.
collide with	The car collided with a truck.
come from	He comes from Florida.
comment on	She wouldn't comment on the accusations.
communicate with SO	Many people use email to communicate with friends and family abroad.
compare SO/ST to SO/ST	The analyst compared the company's current profits to last year's.
compare SO/ST with SO/ST	He shouldn't compare his younger son with his older son.
compete with	He loves to compete with others.
complain about	They complained about the quality of the hotel.
compliment SO on ST	He complimented her on her new dress.
concentrate on	He needs to concentrate on his work.
concern SO with ST	You shouldn't concern her with our problems.
confess to	He confessed to the crimes.
confuse SO/ST with SO/ST	She confused him with Tom Cruise.
congratulate SO on ST	She congratulated him on his victory.
consent to ST	The parents consented to the request.
consist of	The test consists of 100 multiple choice questions.
contribute to ST	I contributed to the World Wildlife Fund.
convict SO of ST	They convicted him of murder.
cope with	Can he cope with the large amount of work.
correspond with SO	I correspond with them by email.
count on	He counts on their support.
cover with	She covered her sleeping son with the blanket.
crash into	He crashed into the tree.
cure SO of ST	The doctors cured her of the disease.

Verb + Prep	Example
deal with	He has to deal with many problems.
decide against	He decided against taking the job in New York.
decide between SO/ST and SO/ST	I couldn't decide between the chicken dinner and the sushi.
decide on	He decide on taking the job in Los Angeles.
dedicate ST to SO	He dedicated the song to his girlfriend.
demand ST from SO	He demanded help from his coworkers.
depend on	The cost of the carpet depends on the quality of the weaving.
derive ST from ST	He derives a great deal of pleasure from his work.
deter SO from ST	Nothing could deter her from becoming a policewoman.
devote ST to SO	He devoted the song to his wife.
differ from	Your results differ little from mine.
disagree with	He disagrees with me.
disapprove of	Her parents disapprove of her job choice.
discourage SO from ST	He discouraged his son from quitting school.
discuss ST with SO	I discussed the situation with them.
distinguish between SO/ST and SO/ST	The expert couldn't distinguish between the real painting and the forgery.
distinguish SO/ST from SO/ST	The expert couldn't distinguish the real painting from the forgery.
distract SO from ST	The loud music distracted her from her work.
dream about	I dream about traveling around the world.
dream of	I dream of a day when poverty no longer exists.
dress SO in ST	She dresses her twins in the same clothes.
drink to	They drank to his new job.

Verb + Prep	Example
elaborate on ST	He elaborated on his earlier comments.
emerge from ST	The dragon emerged from its lair.
escape from (a place)	They escaped from jail.
exchange SO/ST for SO/ST	They exchanged dollars for yen.
exclude SO from ST	He excluded them from the meeting.
excuse SO for ST	She excused them for being late.
expel SO from (a place)	The leader was expelled from the country.
experiment on	They experimented on various ways of preventing the disease.
explain ST to SO	The teacher explained the project to the students.

Verb + Prep	Example
feel about	He felt bad about what he said.
feel like	I feel like seeing a movie.
fight about	They fought about who had to do the dishes.
fight against	Martin Luther King fought against racism and oppression.
fight for	He fought for improved working conditions.
fight with	He fought with his parents throughout his teen years.
forget about	She forgot about the meeting.
forgive SO for ST	She forgave him for the terrible things he said.

Verb + Prep	Example
gamble on	I wouldn't gamble on that happening.
gawk at	They just gawked at me as though they didn't understand a thing.
gaze at	She gazed at the sight in wonder.
get back from (a place)	He got back from work at 6 o'clock.
get married to SO	John got married to Mary.
get rid of	He got rid of his old clothes.
get through with	I'm never going to get through with this work.
get tired of	He got tired of the complaining.
get used to	He needs to get used to the new working conditions.
give ST to SO	He gave the book to me.
glare at	She glared at him in disbelief.
gloat at	He gloated at their failure.
grieve for	The nation is grieving for those who died in the accident.
gripe at SO	She always gripes at her husband.
grumble at SO about ST	The old man always grumbles at his wife about their children never visiting.

Verb + Prep	Example
happen to	What happened to him?
harp on	She is constantly harping on her husband's bad eating habits.
hear about	I have never heard about that policy before.
hear from SO	Have you heard from your son recently?
hear of	Have you ever heard of the Anasazi people?
help SO with ST	He helped me with my homework.
hide ST from SO	He hid his bad report card from his parents.
hinder SO/ST from ST	Rebels are hindering aid workers from accessing the area.
hinge on	Success hinges on his participation in the project.
hope for	The company hopes for better sales in the coming quarter.

Verb + Prep	Example
insist on	He insists on driving even though he is having vision problems.
insure against	The investment does not insure against loss of income.
interfere in ST	The couple's parents should not interfere in their relationship.
interfere with ST	Don't interfere with the natural balance of nature.
introduce SO/ST to SO/ST	I introduced him to his girlfriend.
invest in	We invested in that company.
invite SO to	I invited her to the party.
involve SO/ST in ST	We involved them in the decision making.

Verb + Prep	Example
jabber about	He was jabbering about problems at work.
joke about	We love to sit around and joke about old times.
joke with SO about SO/ST	He was joking with me about the mistake I made.
jot down ST	She jotted down notes as he spoke.

Verb + Prep	Example
keep on (doing something)	She kept on talking
keep SO/ST from (doing something)	I kept her from making the same mistake.
keep ST for SO	He wants to keep the toy for his daughter.
know about	He knows a lot about that subject.

Verb + Prep	Example
laugh about	She laughed about what the children had done.
laugh at	We always laugh at his jokes.
learn about	I need to learn more about that topic.
lend ST to SO	I lent my dictionary to her.
listen for	The mechanic said I should listen for any squeaking sounds.
listen to	He loves to listen to his MP3 player on the subway.
long for	I long for a week on the beach in Hawaii.
look at	Look at this old picture of my grandmother.
look forward to	I look forward to meeting her parents.

Verb + Prep	Example
meet with SO	We will meet with the organizers next week.
mistake SO/ST for SO/ST	I mistook him for his twin brother.

Verb + Prep	Example
nod at	He nodded at the others.
nod to	He nodded to them.

Verb + Prep	Example
object to	Do you object to my smoking?
operate on	The surgeon operated on the conjoined twins.

Verb + Prep	Example
participate in ST	We participated in the survey.
pay for	He paid for our meal last night.
persist in	The disease persists in rural farms throughout the region.
plan on	We plan on attending the wedding.
praise SO for ST	He praises his son for his good grades.
pray for	The villagers prayed for rain.
prefer SO/ST to SO/ST	We prefer salmon to other kinds of fish.
prepare for	We are preparing for a long winter.
present SO with ST	He will present her with the award for best journalist.
prevent SO/ST from (doing something)	The campaign is designed to prevent young people from drinking.
prohibit SO from (doing something)	The school prohibits students from smoking.
provide for	It is difficult for them to provide for their families.
provide SO with ST	The school provides students with textbooks.
provide SO/ST for SO	The company will provide food and drinks for all.
punish SO for ST	He was punished for his crimes.

Verb + Prep	Example
quarrel with SO about ST	They quarreled with the waiter about the mistakes on the bill.
quarrel with SO over ST	He quarreled with her over her political beliefs.

Verb + Prep	Example
react to	He reacted to the news negatively.
recover from ST	He is recovering from his illness.
refer to ST	He was referring to the chart on page 24.
relate to	She is not related to their family.
rely on	We rely on the latest information to make such decisions.
remind SO of SO/ST	He reminds me of my grandfather.
reply to	We replied immediately to the letter.
rescue SO from SO/ST	He rescued the puppy from the icy lake.
resign from ST	He resigned from the company.
respond to	We responded to the request for help.
result in ST	His outburst result in his being fired.
retire from ST	He retired from the company after 40 years of faithful service.

Verb + Prep	Example
save SO from ST	They are working to save mountain gorillas from extinction.
search for	The are searching for signs of life on Mars.
sentence SO to ST	The court sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
separate SO/ST from SO/ST	He separated Billy from the others children.
share ST with SO	She shared her secret with the others.
shout at	The old man shouted at the kids
show ST to SO	He showed the pictures to his friends.
smile at SO	I smiled at the newcomers.
speak to SO about SO/ST	The director spoke to the employees about the changes.
specialize in ST	He specializes in technical translation.
spend (money/time) on	They spent too much money on their new car.
stand for	NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
stare at	Why are they staring at me?
stem from	The corruption charges stem from allegations of bribery.
stop SO from (doing something)	The environmental group stopped them from building the new hotel.
subject SO to ST	They subject the students to unrealistic standards.
subscribe to	He subscribed to that magazine.
substitute SO/ST for SO/ST	You can substitute beef for pork if you don't eat pork.
subtract ST from ST	He subtracted the expenses from the profits.
succeed at ST	He will succeed at anything he does.
succeed in (doing something)	He succeeded in finishing the marathon.
suffer from	She suffers from a rare genetic disorder.
suspect SO of ST	The police suspect them of smuggling drugs over the border.

Verb + Prep	Example
take advantage of	He took advantage of his connections at the company.
take care of	He takes care of his pets.
talk about	They talked about the recent problems.
talk to	I need to talk to you for a few minutes.
tell SO about ST	He told them about what happened.
thank SO for ST	We thanked them for their hospitality.
think about	He thought about what she had said.
think of	They need to think of ways to reduce costs.
toast to	Let's toast to a long marriage.
translate ST into (a language)	He translated the instructions into Japanese.
trust SO with ST	He trusted the new employee with the combination to the safe.
turn to	They turned to page 123.

Verb + Prep	Example
use ST for ST	They use wood for fuel.

Verb + Prep	Example
vote against	She voted against the new proposal.
vote for	He voted for the most popular candidate.

Verb + Prep	Example
wait for	I waited for them at the restaurant.
warn about	They warned me about pickpockets in the train station.
waste (money/time) on	They wasted money on another new car.
wish for	The child wished for a new bicycle before he blew out the candles on his cake.
work for	I have worked for them for 20 years.
work on	They worked on the proposal for two weeks.
worry about	She worries about her children.
write about	He wrote a book about his life.
write to SO	You need to write to your parents more often.

Verb + Prep	Example
The Verb + Preposition Dictionary contains no verbs beginning with "X."

Verb + Prep	Example
yap about	He always yaps about the good old days.
yearn for	He yearns for more adventure in his life.

Verb + Prep	Example
The Verb + Preposition Dictionary contains no verbs beginning with "Z."

Verb + Preposition Dictionary

To look up a verb + preposition combination, click a letter in the menu. The following abbreviations are used in this resource:

SO = someone

ST = something

VERB + PREPOSITION DICTIONARY

Verb + Preposition Dictionary

Verb + Preposition Dictionary