Compare:

He has no desire for name or fame.

He is desirous of becoming a great actor.

Similarly we say:

Confidence in but confident of

He has great confidence in his abilities.

He is confident of winning.

Sensible of but sensitive to

He is sensible of the danger he faces.

The eyes are sensitive to light.

Fond of but fondness for

She is fond of his daughter.

She has great fondness for her daughter.

Dispense with but dispose of

I intend to dispense with the service of my servant.

I intend to dispose of my old car.

Neglectful of but negligent in

A good worker is never neglectful of his duty.

He was found to be negligent in his work.

Note the correct use of prepositions in the following expressions.

Incorrect: Stand from constituency

Correct: stand for a constituency

Incorrect: meet success

Correct: meet with success

Incorrect: Professor in Stanford University

Correct: Professor at Stanford University

Verbs of motion require the preposition to after them.

He went to the garden. (NOT He went in the garden.)

Throw the ball to me.

But when some injury is meant, to is replaced by at

The dog ran at me. (= The dog attacked me.)

He threw the stone at the dog. (= He threw the stone at the dog with the objective of injuring it.)

Use ask with for to ask somebody to give something.
Use ask without for to ask somebody to tell something.

Incorrect: Due to illness, I could not go to school.
Correct: Owing to illness, I could not go to school.

Both due to and owing to mean ‘because of’. Some people believe that it is incorrect to use due to at the beginning of a clause, but the structure is common in educated usage.

Incorrect: He was prevented to come.
Correct: He was prevented from coming.

Prevent cannot be followed by to. It is followed by from + -ing form.

The loud noise prevented me from sleeping.

Incorrect: I met with your friend.
Correct: I met your friend.

Meet means ‘come face to face with somebody or something’. With this meaning it is used without with.

Meet with means ‘experience’.

He met with misfortune. (NOT He met misfortune.)

Incorrect: She insisted to pay.
Correct: She insisted on paying.

Insist cannot be followed by to. It is followed by on + -ing form.

Incorrect: Let’s go for riding.
Correct: Let’s go riding.

Go is used with an –ing form in a number of expressions referring to sporting and leisure activities. No preposition is used in this structure.

Incorrect: We went a walk.
Correct: We went for a walk.

The structure ‘go for a / come for a’ is used in a number of fixed expressions referring to sporting and leisure activities.

1. Before the game started she felt certain ……………….. winning, but after a few minutes she realized that it wasn’t going to be easy.

a) of
b) for
c) to

2. I am not afraid ……………….. tell the truth.

a) of

b) to
c) for

3. You seem very sure ……………………… passing the test.

a) of
b) on
c) to

4. I am interested …………………. finding out what she did with that money.

a) in
b) to
c) of

5. I was interested …………………. read in the paper that scientists have discovered extraterrestrial planets that could possibly support life.

a) in
b) to
c) at

6. I am not accustomed …………….. giving personal information about myself to strangers.

a) to
b) of
c) with

7. I don’t drive fast because I am afraid ……………….. crashing.

a) of
b) to
c) for

8. I am sorry ………………. losing my temper this morning.

a) about
b) of
c) to

9. I am keen ……………….. building a career in publishing.

a) for
b) on
c) at

10. She insisted ………………… coming with me.

a) to
b) on
c) at

Answers

1. of
2. to
3. of
4. in
5. to
6. to
7. of
8. about
9. on
10. on

1.       I hate the idea …………………. getting old. (of / on / with)

2.       A strimmer is a machine used ………………….. cutting grass and weeds. (for / to / with)

3.       I need a swatter …………………… killing the mosquitoes. (for / by / with)

4.       I am proud………………….. have won. (of / to / for)

5.       She is very good ………………….. solving problems. (at / in / to)

6.       I am tired ……………………. listening to this. (with / of / at)

7.       We have a good chance …………………. make a profit. (of / to / in)

8.       Try to stop them …………………… finding out. (from / on / in)

9.       I wasn’t very pleased ………………….. my exam results. (about / for / of)

10.   Nobody knows the reason …………………… the accident. (for / to / with)

11.   He tripped ………………….. the cat and fell downstairs. (over / on / at)

12.   When did your interest ………………… philosophy begin. (in / for / with)

Answers

1.       of

2.       for

3.       for

4.       to

5.       at

6.       of

7.       to

8.       from

9.       about

10.   for

11.   over

12.   in

1.       He was dismissed for tampering ………………… the office files and registers. (with / at / on)

2.       He has a taste …………………… painting. (for / in / with)

3.       The management has come to an understanding …………………… the workers on strike. (with / on / for)

4.       He touched ………………….. unemployment and related problems in his speech. (upon / with / at)

5.       She is well-versed ………………….. classical music. (in / at / for)

6.       I warned him …………………….her treachery. (against / with / for)

7.       He is worthy ………………….. our reverence. (of / for / on)

8.       You shall not yield …………………….. such temptations. (in / to / with)

9.       He has a zest …………………… adventure. (for / on / to)

10.   Their customs are similar ……………………… ours. (to / with / in)

11.   She is very sensitive ……………………… criticism. (to / at / for)

12.   Don’t stoop …………………… such base methods. (to / at / for)

Answers

1.       With

2.       For

3.       With

4.       Upon

5.       In

6.       Against

7.       Of

8.       To

9.       For

10.   To

11.   To

12.   To

1.       He ran …………………… the road. (across / among / at)

2.       She fell ………………….. the thorns. (among / across / at)

3.       A little boy was walking ………………….. her. (beside / among / across)

4.       He stood ………………… the door. (behind / among / across)

5.       You must return ………………….. sunset. (at / before / till)

6.       He stayed ………………….. a month. (for / till / before)

7.       The parcel came ………………… post. (by / with / on)

8.       He fought ………………….. courage. (with / by / of)

9.       He trembled ………………….. anger. (with / of / by)

10.   Exercise is good …………………. health. (on / for / with)

11.   He is a man ………………….. principles. (of / with / for)

12.   She walked …………………… the market. (towards / at / for)

Answers

1.       across

2.       among

3.       beside

4.       behind

5.       before

6.       for

7.       by

8.       with

9.       with

10.   for

11.   of

12.   towards

He looked at her. (Here the preposition at connects the verb looked and the pronoun her.)
He put the books on the table. (Here the preposition on connects the nouns books and table.)
I don’t know why she is angry with me. (Here the preposition with connects the adjective angry and the pronoun me.)

In some cases the preposition may come at the end of the clause.

Wh-questions

When a question word is the object of a preposition, the preposition usually comes at the end of the clause.

Who are talking to? (More natural than ‘To whom are you talking?’)
Who’s this gift for? (For whom is this gift? is extremely formal.)
Where did you buy this from?

Relative clauses

When a relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, the preposition usually goes at the end of the clause. This is common in an informal style.

This is the boy that I told about. (Less formal than ‘This is the boy about whom I told you.’)
That is what I am worried about.
He is the only man who I have ever been in love with.

Notes

Some prepositions cannot come at the end of clauses. Examples are: during and since.

Since when have you been working here? (NOT When have you been working here since?)
During which year did it happen? (NOT Which year did it happen during?)

Place

Important place prepositions are: in, at, on, across, among, behind, under, below, above, over etc.

The boy ran across the road.
She stood behind the door.
I met him at the club.
The cat is under the bed.
She sat among the children.

Time

Important time prepositions are: at, before, till, until, for, since, after, in

We started in the morning.
The meeting is at 10 o’clock.
We must return before sunset.
We will wait till tomorrow.
He stayed for a month.
It has been raining since morning.

Method and manner

Prepositions: by and with

He killed the spider with a stone.
He killed the spider by hitting it.
The letter came by post.
They fought with courage.

Reason and purpose

Prepositions: with, of, for

She trembled with anger.
He died of malaria.
Exercise is good for health.
They struggled for freedom.

Possession

Important prepositions indicating possession are: of, with and by.

Delhi is the capital of India.
I saw a boy with red hair.
He is a man of character.
He came by a lot of money.

Direction and Motion

Important prepositions indicating direction and motion are: into, on to, up, round and towards.

He fell into the well.
He walked towards the market.
He climbed up the tree.
The earth moves round the sun.

Before that

Prepositions are not usually used directly before the conjunction that. In indirect speech, prepositions are usually dropped before that-clauses.

Compare:

I knew about his financial problems.
I knew that he had financial problems. (NOT I knew about that he had financial problems.)
I had no idea of his condition.
I had no idea that he was in trouble. (NOT I had no idea of that he was in trouble.)
I was surprised at her intelligence.
I was surprised that she was so intelligent. (NOT I was surprised at that she was so intelligent.)

In other cases the expression the fact is put between the preposition and that.

The judge paid no attention to the fact that the accused was in love with the woman he allegedly killed.

(NOT The judge paid no attention to that the accused …) (NOT The judge paid no attention that the accused was in love…)

Question words

Prepositions are usually dropped before the question words who, which, what etc. This usually happens after the words tell, ask, depend, sure, idea, look etc.

Tell me about your vacation.
Tell me where you went. OR Tell me about where you went.
I asked her about her problems.
I asked her whether she had problems. (More natural than ‘I asked her about whether she had problems’.)

What are you looking for? (More natural than ‘For what are looking?’)
Who is this present for? (For whom is this present? is extremely formal.)
Who were you speaking to? (NOT To whom were you speaking?)
Which pictures are you talking about?
What are you laughing at?
Who put the cat in?
Who turned the lights off?

Prepositions come at the end of clauses in indirect wh-questions and what-clauses which are not questions.

Tell me what you are looking for. (NOT Tell me for what you are looking.)
What a lot of trouble I have gotten into! (NOT Into what a lot of trouble I have gotten.)

Some questions consist of simply a question word and preposition.

What with?
Who for?
What about?

Note that this structure is unusual when there is a noun with the question word.

With what money? (NOT What money with?)

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions.

1. What are you crying ————–?
2. Who shall I give this ——————?
3. What are you waiting ——————?
4. Which writer were you talking ——————?
5. Which candidate have you voted ——————-?

Answers

1. for
2. to
3. for
4. about
5. for