Verb + Preposition

Accuse someone of something: She accused me of stealing her money.

Advise someone about/on something: She advised me about going on holiday.

Agree with sb: I agree with you.

Agree about/on sth: we agreed about going to Paris.

Apologize for sth: I apologized for breaking her heart.

Apply for: He applied for the job.

Approve of: My supervisor approved of sending me abroad.

Argue with sb: I argued with my girlfriend.

Argue about sth: we argued about going on holiday.

Arrest sb for sth: A police officer arrested her for stealing a mobile phone from the store.

Arrive at/in: we arrived at the hospital. / She arrived in Germany.

Ask sb about/for sth: I asked my friend about celebrating her girlfriend’s party.

Believe in: I believe in moving to Germany.

Belong to: This car belongs to me.

Benefit from: I benefited a lot from taking this course.

Bet on: I bet on winning the next world cup.

Blame sb for sth: She blamed me for not buying her a diamond ring.

Blame sth on sb: She blamed her failure on me.

Borrow sth from sb: I borrowed the car from him.

Break into: They broke into our house.

Care about/for: I care about my family.

Change sth into sth:  I change the yogurt into Ayran.

Collide with: I collided with a car parked in my house.

Come from:  She comes from Turkey.

Communicate with:  It is difficult for me to communicate with my patients.

Compare sth/sb to/with sth/sb:  Never compare yourself with others.

Compete against/with: I only compete with myself.

Complain about: She complains about moving to Germany.

Concentrate on: I have to concentrate on doing my test.

Congratulate sb on sth: I congratulated my best friend on marrying her.

Connect sth to/with sth: I connect my phone to my mobile network.

Consist of: milk consists of calcium.

Cope with: I cope with passing my English exam.

Count on: I know that I can count on Mr. Mazlum all the time in terms of money. (Trust)

Crash into: I crashed into a rabbit running on the highway.

Criticize sb for sth: She criticized her boyfriend for not being honest.

Deal with: I can’t deal with talking to my patients.

Decide on: I decided on moving to Germany.

Depend on: My weekend activities depend on how tired I am.

Describe sb/sth to sb: I described my girlfriend to my teacher.

Die of: She died of a heart attack.

Differ from: My personality differs from yours.

Disagree about sth: I disagree about changing his job.

Disagree with sb: I strongly disagree with you about the current Turkish economy.

Disappear from: Anatolian lion disappeared from the earth thousand years ago.

Discuss sth with sb: I don’t want to discuss this issue with you.

Divide sth into sth: The current policy has divided people into two groups.

Dream about/of: He dreams about being an associate professor.

End in/with: This relationship ends in tears.

Escape from: She escaped from doing her job.

Explain sth to someone: I explain the danger of this disease to my patient.

Feel like: I feel like eating ice cream.

Fight with some: I don’t like fighting with people beneath me.

Fight about sth: She flights about moving to Germany.

Fill sth with sth: I filled my cup with coffee.

Forget about: I forget about calling her after work.

Forgive sb for sth: I forgave her for breaking my heart.

Happen to: It has never happened to me. / It could happen to anyone.

Hear about/from/of: I hear good news about you.

Hope for: I hope for finding my true love.

Improve on: I cannot improve on his comments. (Surpass, do better than)

Insist on: He insisted on taking me to the kebab house.

Introduce sb to sb: She introduced his boyfriend to me.

Joke about sth: She always jokes about my appearance.

Joke with sb: She doesn’t like joking with her colleagues.

Know sth about sb/sth: I know nothing about you. / I know everything about you.

Laugh at: She never laughs at anyone.

Lead to: Eating too many fast-food leads to obesity.

Learn about: I have just learned about my dismissal.

Lend sth to sb: She never lends her car to me.

Listen to: I never listen to ignorant people.

Live with: I don’t live with my girlfriend. / I live with my cat.

Look after: I have to look after my family.

Look at: I look at my cat. 

Look for: I am looking for my cat. 

Look like: She looks like her mom.

Object to: I object to going to the hospital. (exception)

Look forward to doing this: I am looking forward to seeing her.

Be partial to: I am partial to playing football.

Pay for: You will pay the price for breaking my heart.

Persist in: She persists in going to Paris for their holiday.

Point at/to: She points at eating out.

Prefer sth/sb to sth/sb: I prefer Istanbul to London. / I prefer you to her.

Prepare for: I prepare for carrying out my research.

Prevent sb/sth from sb/sth: Doing exercises can prevent people from suffering from obesity.

Protect sb/sth from sth: I have to protect myself from Coronavirus.

Protest about/against: I protest about dismissing people from their workplace.

Provide sb with sth: I provide my family with money.

Provide sth for someone: I provide medical care for my patients.

Punish sb for sth: I punished myself for eating too much chocolate.

Quarrel about sth: I quarreled about changing my office at the hospital.

Quarrel with sb: I never quarrel with my friend.

React to: The patient doesn’t react to the treatment.

Recover from: I have already recovered from my illness.

Refer to: The editor refers to the errors in the article.

Rely on: I rely on my family.

Remind sb about/of sth: She reminds me of locking the door before I left.

Reply to: The hospital never replies to my emails.

Resign from: I resign from my current job.

Result in: Eating too much kebab results in bowel obstruction.

Return sth to sb: I returned the laptop to her.

Save sb from sth: I saved her from drowning in the river.

Say sth to sb: I never say anything to her.

Search for: I am searching for some articles for my academic studies.

See to: attend: I will see to Dad’s tea.

See to: deal with something: He sees to all the music and arrangements.

Share sth with sb: I never share my books with anyone.

Shout at/to: She never shouts at her children.

Smell of: I smell of burning bread.

Smile at: She never smiles at me.

Speak about sb/sth: I never speak about political issues.

Speak to sb: I never speak to her.

Spend (money/time) on sth: I don’t want to spend my time on her.

Stare at: I never stare at my students.

Steal sth from sb: I stole the car from her garage.

Succeed in/at: I succeeded in becoming an associate professor.

Suffer from: She suffers from being lonely.

Suspect sb of sth: She suspected me of stealing her car.

Sympathize with sb: She never sympathizes with me.

Sympathize about sth: I never sympathize about animal rights.

Take after: She takes after her mom.

Look after: I have to look after my sick patient.

Talk about sb/sth: I never talk about the political leader.

Talk to sb: I don’t want to talk to me.

Taste of: You have to taste of the food that you cooked.

Tell sb about sth: I never tell her about my income.

Thank sb for sth: I thank my professor for being my jury.

Think about/of: I don’t want to think about it.

Translate sth into sth: I translated the English word into Turkish.

Turn into sb/sth: I turned my dream into a reality. / The magician turned the girl into a mouse.

Wait for: I don’t want to wait for you.

Warn sb about/against/ of sth: I warned her about his evil plan.

Waste (money/time) on sth: I don’t want to waste my money on alcohol.

Worry about: I don’t worry about my future.

Write about sth/sb: I never write anything about her.

Write sth to sb: I wrote a letter to her.

Lesson Summary

Verbs followed by prepositions in English can change the meaning of the verb or provide direction for the action. Here are some common examples:

• Accuse someone of something: She accused me of stealing her money.
• Advise someone about/on something: She advised me about going on holiday.
• Agree with someone: I agree with you.
• Agree about/on something: We agreed about going to Paris.
• Apologize for something: I apologized for breaking her heart.

And so forth, with various combinations like Arrive at/in, Arrest someone for something, Believe in, Benefit from, Blame someone for something, which influence the understanding of the verb and the preposition combined. Each pairing creates a specific context or meaning for the action being described, impacting the overall message conveyed in the sentence.