Verb + Preposition

General classification of prepositions

Prepositions in English can have different meanings. Below is a summary of some of the most usual meanings for the most common prepositions in English

Click on the image to make it bigger.

Prepositions of Time


Prepositions of Place (Position and Direction)



Other important prepositions



Verbs + prepositions: Prepositional Verbs

Some English verbs are special in the fact that they require specific prepositions to complement the meaning of the action they represent. Some examples are: listen + to, look + at, talk + about, etc.

Another type of compound verb is the so-called "phrasal verb". Phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs are different: in phrasal verbs, the meaning of the action cannot be inferred from the sum of the parts. Some examples are: look into (investigate), look after (take care of). In prepositional verbs, the meaning of the verb is basically the meaning of the main part of the verb: listen to, look at, talk about can all be described as conveying the meaning that is carried out by the lexical verb: listen, look, talk.

There are no rules to understand which prepositions come after which verbs. The only way to acquire this part of the English vocabulary is by practicing the language: reading and listening, especially.

List of the most common prepositional verbs in English

Click for Audio to listen to the pronunciation AS you are reading them.



The following is a list of verbs and prepositions which commonly appear together.

accuse (someone) of ([doing] something)
add (something) to (something else)
admire (someone) for ([doing] something)
agree on (topic)
agree with (someone)
apologize to (someone) for ([doing] something)
apply to (a place) for (something)
approve of (something)
argue with (someone) about (topic)
arrive at (a building, room, site, event)
arrive in (a city, country)
ask (someone) about (someone/topic)
ask (someone) for (something)

believe in (something)
belong to (someone)
blame (someone) for ([doing] something)
borrow (something) from (someone)

care about (someone/something/topic)
comment on (topic)
compare (something) to/with (something else)
complain to (someone) about (something)
concentrate on ([doing] something)
congratulate (someone) for/on ([doing] something)
consist of (some things)
consent to ([doing] something)
contribute to (something)
count on (someone) to (do something)
cover (something) with (something else)

decide on (topic)
depend on (someone) for (something)
discuss (something) with (someone)
distinguish (something) from (something else)
dream about/of (someone/something)

escape from (somewhere)
explain (topic) to (someone)
excuse (someone) for ([doing] something)

forgive (someone for ([doing] something)

get rid of (something)
graduate from (a place)

happen to (someone)
help (someone) with (something)
hide (something) from (someone)

insist (up)on (something)
introduce (someone) to (someone else)
invite (someone) to (an event)

keep (something) for (someone)

matter to (someone)

object to (something)

participate in (something)
pay (price) for (something)
pray for (someone/something)
prefer (something) to (something else)
prevent (someone) from ([doing] something)
prohibit (someone) from ([doing] something)
protect (someone) from (something)
provide (someone) with (something)

recover from (something)
rely (up)on (someone/something)
remind (someone) of (something)
rescue (someone) from (something)
respond to (someone/something)

save (someone) from (something)
search for (something)
separate (something) from (something else)
scold (someone) for ([doing] something)
smile at (someone) for ([doing] something)
speak to/with (someone) about (topic) /br>stare at (something/someone)
stop (someone) from ([doing] something)
subscribe to (something)
substitute (something) for (something else/someone)
subtract (something) from (something else)
succeed in ([doing] something)
suffer from (something)

take advantage of (someone/something/ situation)
take care of (something/someone)
talk to/with (someone) about (topic)
thank (someone) for ([doing] something)
travel to (somewhere)

vote for (someone)
vouch for (someone)

wait for (someone/something)
wish for (something)
work for (company/something/someone)

Grammar Practice

http://www.english-zone.com/preps/vp-a.html
Time Prepositions 1
Time Prepositions 2
Location Prepositions
Location Prepositions 2
Direction Prepositions
Direction Prepositions 2
Position Prepositions
Position Prepositions 2

Numbers

Let's review numbers in English here

Let's practice listening to English numbers here

Let's practice writing numbers here

More exercises:

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/numbers/exercises

The date

http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/numbers.html

The hundreds

http://www.nonstopenglish.com/allexercises/vocabulary/vocabulary-numbers.asp

Learn easily with a game!

Pronunciation

Silent -e-

Many words in English finish with a single -e- When that happens, this letter is usually silent and the previous syllable is pronounced with a diphthong:

/ai/

smile

type

side

abide

nice

fine

mine

/ei/

tame

lame

same

name

fame

sane

/o/

sore

before

more

/A/

done

some

tongue

Can you find other examples?

Spelling and pronunciation

There are 12 vowels in oral English, still, only 5 letters are used to represent them. Sometimes spelling, however, can be useful.

a) -o- in: son, tongue, ton, come.

b) -o- in: long, song, shot.

c) -ou- in: fought, sought, four.

d) -a- in: man, sand, land.

e) -i- in: fit, six, minute.

f) -ee- in: see, feet, need.

g) -oo- in: foot, good, look.

h) -oo- in: food, fool, wool.

i) -u- in: full, put.

j) -u- in: luck, cut, nut.

Can you find more examples for this list? More sounds to add to the list?

Sentence Order (2)

Fronting

Sometimes, the canonical order of the sentence in English is broken, usually because we want to emphasize a particular part of the sentence by placing it at the beginning.

a) Direct object.

When the direct object is fronted, the sentence does not suffer further changes.

I watched a movie with John

A movie I watched with John

b) Adverb of time

When the adverb of time (or any other expression of time) is fronted, the sentence keeps its canonical order.

I went to the movies yesterday

Yesterday I went to the movies

c) Indirect object and other adverbs

When other parts of the sentence are fronted, this suffers a subject-verb inversion (as much as it happens in questions)*** The exception would be long subjects (see example below)

I told the story to John

To John did I tell the story

I walk my dog in the park

In the park do I walk my dog

MORE EXAMPLES

Waddle his name is.
 Rich I’ve never been.

 Fish I can eat.
That I will tell you another time.
This vase I want you to sell to the Americans.

 Linda he believed to be less innocent than Jim.
Out darted a mouse.
In the corner of the room was a gas ring, a kettle and a single glass.
Only after a while did he notice that his mother was crying.
In the distance a sunlit range of mountains could be seen very clearly. (long subject is not inverted)***
After the birth of their son, Lily had been unable to cope with all the housework.

 

II. Fronting of the complement of a preposition

This computer I’ve had a lot of trouble with.

Carl is wonderful to work with.
Democracy is worth fighting for. (It is worth fighting for democracy)

Not only... but also

This expression requires a subject-verb inversion.

Not only did he bring his wife but also his children

Conditional

There are 3 forms for the 3rd conditional:

a) If we had taken it into account, John would not have lost his job

b) Should we had taken it into account, John would not have lost his job

c) Had we taken it into account, John would not have lost his job

Notice that b) and c) require a subject-verb inversion

Read more on Inversion here

Inversions In English

View more presentations from aliciambarajas.

Sentence order

Canonical order of English sentences

English sentences usually follow this structure:

SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT

For example:
I(subj) like(v) bicycles(obj)

I(subj) like(v) running(obj)

The order of negative sentences
Negative sentences have a special order because we include the auxiliary (don't, aren't, hasn't, etc.) or the modal verb in the negative form (can't, needn't, mustn't, etc.) between the subject and the main verb.

For example:
I like bicycles (affirmative)
I DON´T like bicycles (negative) (or do not)
We are going to Paris (affirmative)
We AREN'T going to Paris (negative) (or are not)
He has learned to drive (affirmative)
He HASN'T learned to drive (negative) (or has not)


The order of questions
Questions also change the canonical order of sentences, but only when they are "direct questions".

For example:
What ARE you doing?
Are you Englihs?

"Indirect questions" do not change the canonical order of sentences. Indirect questions are used when we quote someone else's questions, or when we refer to questions indirectly (I want to know what you are doing is an indirect way to ask the question "What are you doing?" Indirect questions are sometimes used because they sound "more polite").

For example:
He wants to know what you are doing
He wants to know if you are English (indirect questions of yes/no type use the "if" as an introduction)


The position of adverbs
The canonical order of sentences gets complicated when we have adverbs. Adverbs can be of different types: frequency, manner, place and time are the most frequent. Let's have a look at them one by one.

1. Verb and object
The connection between verb and object can't be broken by an adverb

For example:
She speaks English well
I very much like English

Adverbs of manner usually go after the object: badly, well, wonderfully, etc.

2. Frequency adverbs
Frequency adverbs take 3 positions:

a) After "to be": I am ALWAYS happy

b) Before the "Simple Present": I ALWAYS work on Sundays

c) Between the auxiliary (or the modal) and the rest of the verb:
I have ALWAYS worked on Sundays. I don´t ALWAYS eat my dinner. I have ALWAYS been studying English late at night.
You must ALWAYS go to bed early

3. Place and Time adverbs
The general order of English is:

SUBJECT + VERB + (OBJECT) + PLACE + TIME

I eat lasagna at Luigi's on Sundays I run in the park in the evening

SUBJECT + VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + INDIRECT OBJECT + PLACE + TIME

I gave the book to John in the library yesterday

Adverbs of time can go at the end of the sentence or at the beginning of the sentence.

On Sundays I eat lasagna at Luigi's In the evening I run in the park

4. Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner can go in mid-position (before or after the verb) or end-position.

For example:
I angrily walked out of the room I walked angrily out of the room I walked out of the room angrily
5. Adverbs of "emphasis"
Adverbs of emphasis (certainly, really, definitely, etc.) can be placed right after the subject.

For example:
I really like it
We will certainly do it
He doesn´t probably know it

Sometimes, by placing the adverb of emphasis right after the subject, we can establish a difference in meaning:

I really don´t like her (I dislike her)
I don´t really like her (I don´t really like her, it is indifferent to me)

PRACTICE
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/complex_tests/word_order1/task.php
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/word-order
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/adverbs_quiz.htm
http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/~cepco3/patatas/eguisado/AdverbsWordOrder2.htm



READ MORE HERE:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm

Gender Differences

There is nothing like gender differences to have us all involved in a conversation. Let´s have a look at the following materials.

Reading

Let's do the following reading. We will practice pronunciation and will discuss about it. Just click here

We will do the same with the following collection of "facts" here

Watching

Watch the following video and describe your impressions.




Listening

Here's an interesting video



And one more to have some fun with :)

Pronunciation of the -d/-ed suffix (past tense)

Formation of the past tense & past participle

The past tense and the past participle of the verbs in English can be formed in 2 different ways:

a) Regular verbs add the suffix -ed (-d when the verb ends with "e") to the infinitive: for example, "talk" (infinitive) = "talked" (past), or "decide" (infinitive) = "decided" (past)

b) Irregular verbs change the infinitive form, there is not a rule to understand the formation here.

Pronunciation of the -d/-ed suffix

The most complicated part of this suffix is its pronunciation. We can find 3 types of pronunciation, according to the pronunciation of the last sound of the infinitive:

1) Last sound of the verb in the infinitive is VOICELESS (– p – k – s – ch – sh – f – x – h):
-d/-ed = [t]

2) Last sound of the verb in infinitive is VOICED (– l – v – n – m – r – b – v – g – w – y – z):
-d/-ed = [d]

3) Last sound of the verb in the infinitive is /d/ or /t/:
-d/-ed = [id]

EXCEPTIONS!!!

The pronunciation of this suffix has several exceptions. They all adjectives that didn't evolve into the standard pronunciation that we have now and that has been described above. Some of them are: wicked, blessed, learned, beloved, ragged, and naked.

wicked /ˈwɪk.ɪd/ adj

• old-fashioned morally wrong and bad

It was a wicked thing to do

Of course, in the end, the wicked witch gets killed

It was the wicked and wild wind

Near synonyms: evil; naughty 

• old-fashioned slightly immoral or bad for you, but in an attractive way

a wicked grin (grin= wide smile)

a wicked sense of humour

blessed /ˈbles.ɪd/ adj

• /ˈbles.ɪd//blest/formal holy

Blessed are the meek (=quite, gentle, not willing to fight) for they shall inherit the Earth

• /ˈbles.ɪd/literary bringing you happiness, luck, or something you need

blessed peace/rain/silence

a blessed relief

learned /ˈlɜː.nɪd//ˈlɝː-/ adj

• formal describes someone who has studied for a long time and has a lot of knowledge

a learned professor

beloved /bɪˈlʌv.ɪd/, /-ˈlʌvd/ adj slightly formal

• loved very much

Her beloved husband died last year

She was forced to leave her beloved Paris and return to Lyon

Eric was a gifted teacher beloved by all those he taught over the years

ragged /ˈræg.ɪd/ adj

• (of clothes) not in good condition; torn

The children were wearing dirty ragged clothes.

• (of a person) untidy, dirty and wearing old torn clothes

Two ragged children stood outside the station begging for money

• (especially of an edge) rough and not smooth

The leaves of this plant have ragged edges

The patient's breathing was ragged (= not regular) and uneven

A ragged (= not straight) line of people were waiting at the bus stop

• not performing well, because of not being organized

The team were rather ragged in the first half of the match, but improved in the second half.

naked /ˈneɪ.kɪd/ adj

• not covered by clothes

a naked man

naked bodies

stark naked (= completely naked)

US informal buck/butt naked (= completely naked)

He was naked to the waist (= not wearing clothes above his waist)

The children were half naked (= partly naked)

They stripped naked (= took off their clothes) and ran into the sea

• Something that is naked does not have its usual covering

a naked flame/light bulb (= one with nothing surrounding or covering it)

a naked hillside (= one without trees or plants)

LISTENING TO EXPLANATIONS

PRACTICE

1) Take a piece of paper and write as many examples as possible to show the 3 different pronunciations (results at the bottom of the post)

2) Click here if you would like to practice identifying the pronunciation of the -d/-ed suffix

3) Click here to further practice

4) Read the following text (check unknown words first):

OUR ENCHANTED ANNIVERSARY EVENING

A) It happened to be our anniversary when we traveled to Barcelona, so my wife Doris and I planned a special evening out. I purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses that smelled wonderful and a black pearl necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. I beamed as I presented them to Doris. She pinned a rose to her sequined lapel. Her auburn hair shimmered in the sunset’s bronzed glow. I called a checkered taxi and we passed many highlighted sights before we arrived in front of the restaurant. The waiter seated us as soon as we walked into the neon-signed restaurant. I noticed a secluded table. (22 verbs)

B) We positioned ourselves near an opened window and prepared to eat. My wife Doris looked at the selections listed on the menu and decided to have an appetizer. I picked the mushroom soup. A few minutes later the waiter returned. “What would you like to have?”, he asked. Doris ordered some steamed shrimp and broiled trout. I requested a tossed Cesar salad with a grilled steak and a baked potato. While we dined, we chatted and sipped a glass of white wine. Doris wolfed down her food but I savored the meal and chewed my steak slowly. When she finished, she munched on some pretzels. She soon gobbled up all the pretzels in the small bowl placed on the table. Later, we nibbled on a slice of decorated cheesecake as we talked. I wanted some coffee with my dessert. Doris preferred to drink iced tea. After the salted pretzels, Doris needed to drink some water. The waiter finally handed me the bill and I offered him a tip. We tipped him 15% of the totaled charges. He thanked us and smiled as we exited the restaurant. (40 verbs)

C) Outside the now closed restaurant, we strolled along the cobble-stoned street, stopped and laughed when we spotted a trained puppy that jumped and played with its owner. We then relaxed and watched the sunset from a padded park bench as the boats in the harbor rocked, pitched and bobbed on the water. Next, we watched a romantic movie at a new cinema that interested us. The aged couple in the movie argued and chased each other as they sailed down an unnamed river that tumbled and surged through rapids which boiled around jagged rocks. Frequently they were trapped and scared. When the colorized movie ended the two discovered that they really loved each other. Finally, at the disco, we danced, swayed to the music and hugged each other often. Whenever I kissed Doris she blushed and giggled. Both of us enjoyed our enchanted evening out together. We hope you liked our story. (41 verbs)

---------------------------------------
Results:
1) asked
baked
brushed
cooked
cracked
crashed
danced (da:ns) + t
dressed
dropped
escaped
finished
fixed
guessed
helped
hoped
hiked
joked
jumped
knocked
kissed
laughed (læf) + t
locked
looked
missed
mixed
packed
passed
picked
pressed
pushed
pronounced
relaxed
slipped
smoked
stopped
shopped
talked
typed
walked
washed
watched
worked

2) advised (ad’vaiz) + d
agreed
allowed
answered
appeared
arrived
believed
belonged
burned
called
carried
changed
cleaned
closed
covered
cried
damaged
described
died
dried
earned
encouraged
enjoyed
entered
explained
explored
filled
followed
happened
interviewed
imagined
jailed
killed
listened
lived
loved
measured
moved
opened
planned
played
performed
pulled
realized
remembered
rained
repaired
saved
shared
shaved
showed
signed
slammed
stayed
snowed
studied
tried
traveled
turned
used
welcomed
whispered
worried
yawned

3) attended
arrested
collected
contacted
counted
decided
defended
demanded
divided
ended
expanded
expected
exported
flooded
graduated
hated
hunted
included
invited
invented
landed
needed
painted
planted
printed
presented
pretended
protected
provided
rented
repeated
reported
respected
rested
scolded
skated
started
shouted
treated
visited
waited
wanted
wasted

Other, another, the other, the others

PRE-TEST

Use "other", "others" or "another" to complete the following sentences:

• There are ________________jobs you could try.
• Where's the ______________ packet of cereals?
• Is there any _____________ bread?
• Have ___________ cup of tea.

(The results, at the end of this post)

Take a quiz here:


EXPLANATION

Other is an adjective meaning 'different' and is used as follows :

- This car park is closed but the other car park is open. - Some children learn quickly but other children need more time.
When do we use "the other" and when do we use "other"? You need to remember the use of the article "the" in English. "The" is used when we know the reference we are talking about, because it is something specific, definite in our mind. We omit the article "the" when we are generalizing. That is why in our second example above we don´t use the article.

Other, others can also be used as a pronoun to refer to things or people.

- 80% of the students arrive on time. - The others ( = the other students) are always late.

Another expresses quantity, something extra or additional. It is only used in the singular, and, just like "other", can be used as an adjective or as a pronoun.

- There are 6 people for dinner but there are only 5 plates. We need another plate. (adjective)
- I really liked your apples. Could I have another, please? (pronoun)

*** And remember!!! "other" and "another" have the same pronunciation as: London, money, none, won, one, son, etc.

LISTEN TO AN EXPLANATION

Here





PRACTICE

1. Which word best completes each sentence: "another", "the other", or "other"?

2. "Another", "other" or "others". Choose the right word.

3. Fill in the gaps

4. Translate

------------------
Results:

• There are other jobs you could try.
• Where's the other packet of cereals?
• Is there any other bread?
• Have another cup of tea.