Verb + Preposition Collocations

Verb + preposition collocations are one of those areas of English that can make an otherwise correct sentence sound slightly wrong. You may know the grammar and vocabulary, but if you use the wrong preposition after a verb, the sentence can still sound unnatural.

believe in something
suffer from something
wait for someone
agree with someone
apologise to someone for something

These combinations are often called verb + preposition collocations or verbs with dependent prepositions.

For learners preparing for B2 First or C1 Advanced, they are especially important because they appear in Use of English, writing and speaking.

Table of Contents

Verb + ABOUT

We often use about with verbs connected with speaking, thinking, information and concern.

argue about	disagree about a subject	They were arguing about money.
ask about	request information about something	She asked about my new job.
care about	consider something important	He really cares about the environment.
complain about	express dissatisfaction	Several guests complained about the noise.
forget about	fail to remember	I completely forgot about the meeting.
hear about	receive information about something	Have you heard about the accident?
know about	have information about something	What do you know about the company?
talk about	discuss a subject	We talked about our holiday plans.
think about	consider something	I need to think about your offer.
worry about	feel anxious about something	She worries about her children.

Verb + AT

We commonly use at with verbs involving direction, focus or ability.

aim at	try to achieve something	The campaign aims at reducing waste.
arrive at	reach a small place or specific point	We arrived at the hotel at noon.
excel at	be very good at something	She excels at languages.
laugh at	laugh because of someone or something	Everyone laughed at his joke.
look at	direct your eyes towards something	Look at that beautiful building.
point at	show something with your finger	He pointed at the map.
shout at	speak loudly and angrily to someone	She shouted at him to stop.
smile at	smile towards someone	The child smiled at me.
stare at	look continuously at something	Why are you staring at me?

Arrive at or arrive in?

Use arrive at for a particular place:

arrive at the station
arrive at the airport

Use arrive in for towns, cities and countries:

arrive in London
arrive in Italy

Verb + FOR

We often use for with verbs connected with requests, searching, purpose and payment.

admire someone for	respect someone because of something	I admire her for her courage.
apologise for	say sorry for an action	He apologised for being late.
ask for	request something	She asked for a glass of water.
beg for	ask desperately	The child begged for another chance.
care for	like or look after	He doesn’t care for spicy food.
fight for	try hard to achieve or protect something	They fought for equal rights.
hope for	want something to happen	We’re hoping for good weather.
long for	want something very much	She longed for a quieter life.
pay for	give money in exchange for something	How much did you pay for the tickets?
provide for	support someone financially	He works hard to provide for his family.
search for	try to find something	We searched for the missing keys.
wait for	stay until someone or something arrives	Who are you waiting for?
work for	be employed by	She works for an international company.

Verb + FROM

We use from with verbs involving origin, separation, protection, change or recovery.

benefit from	gain an advantage from something	Students benefit from regular practice.
borrow from	take something temporarily from someone	I borrowed a book from Sarah.
come from	originate in a place	He comes from a small town.
differ from	be different from	My opinion differs from yours.
escape from	get away from	The prisoner escaped from jail.
graduate from	complete studies at an institution	She graduated from university last year.
recover from	become well again after something	He is recovering from an operation.
rescue from	save from danger	Firefighters rescued two people from the building.
resign from	leave a job or position formally	She resigned from her post.
retire from	stop working in a profession	He retired from teaching at 65.
save from	prevent harm or loss	They saved several paintings from the fire.
suffer from	experience an illness or problem	He suffers from back pain.

Verb + IN

We often use in with verbs involving participation, belief, investment, specialisation and results.

arrive in	reach a city, country or large area	They arrived in Paris yesterday.
believe in	accept that something exists or is worthwhile	She believes in giving people a second chance.
confide in	tell someone private information	He confided in his closest friend.
engage in	take part in an activity	Students engaged in a lively discussion.
invest in	put money, time or effort into something	The company invested in new technology.
participate in	take part in something	Over 200 students participated in the event.
result in	cause a particular outcome	The mistake resulted in a long delay.
specialise in	concentrate on one area	She specialises in international law.
succeed in	manage to achieve something	He succeeded in solving the problem.

Verb + OF

approve of	think something is acceptable	Her parents didn’t approve of her decision.
consist of	be made up of	The course consists of twelve units.
dream of	imagine or strongly desire something	She dreams of living by the sea.
hear of	know that someone or something exists	Have you ever heard of this author?
take care of	look after	Can you take care of the children tonight?
think of	bring someone or something to mind	I often think of my old school friends.

Hear of or hear about?

There is a useful difference:

hear of = know that someone or something exists
I’ve never heard of that writer.
hear about = receive information or news about something
Did you hear about his new job?

Verb + TO

We often use to with verbs involving direction, communication, reaction and connection.

adapt to	become accustomed to something	It took her time to adapt to her new job.
admit to	acknowledge something	He admitted to making a mistake.
apologise to	say sorry to a person	She apologised to the customer.
belong to	be owned by	This bag belongs to me.
consent to	agree formally	They consented to the proposal.
lead to	cause or take you towards something	Lack of sleep can lead to poor concentration.
listen to	pay attention to sound	I listened to the radio on the way home.
object to	express opposition	Several residents objected to the plan.
respond to	reply or react	Please respond to my message.
speak to	talk to someone	I’d like to speak to the manager.
talk to	have a conversation with someone	Can I talk to you for a moment?
turn to	ask someone for help or advice	She turned to a friend for advice.

Watch out: agree

Agree can take different prepositions:

agree with someone
I agree with you.
agree on something
We finally agreed on a date.
agree to something
They agreed to the new conditions.

Verb + WITH

We often use with for relationships, interaction and dealing with people or situations.

agree with	have the same opinion as someone	I completely agree with you.
argue with	have a disagreement with someone	She was arguing with her brother.
begin with	have something as the first part	The lesson begins with a short quiz.
compare with	examine similarities or differences	Compare this year’s results with last year’s.
compete with	try to do better than someone	Small shops struggle to compete with large chains.
cope with	manage a difficult situation	How do you cope with stress?
deal with	handle a problem or situation	We need to deal with this problem quickly.
meet with	have a meeting with someone	The minister met with local officials.

Common Mistakes

❌ ~~It depends of the weather.~~

✅ It depends on the weather.

❌ ~~I’m waiting my friend.~~

✅ I’m waiting for my friend.

❌ ~~She suffers of migraines.~~

✅ She suffers from migraines.

❌ ~~He listened the teacher carefully.~~

✅ He listened to the teacher carefully.

❌ ~~I agree to you.~~

✅ I agree with you.

❌ ~~They complained for the service.~~

✅ They complained about the service.

Verb + Preposition Collocations: Quiz

Now that you’ve seen the most useful verb + preposition collocations, try the quiz below and see how many you can remember.

Download the verb + preposition collocations exercises in PDF

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6 Comments

Praveen Sharda · 22 Feb 2023 at 4:53 am

A preposition is always followed by a noun as its object. In all of the sample sentences, preposition is followed by a noun/pronoun/gerund. So these are sentences made up of prepositional phrasal verbs.

What about prepositions that are used as particles, meaning adverbs.

Noun + Preposition Collocations - My Lingua Academy · 7 Feb 2024 at 12:15 pm

[…] Look at verb + preposition collocations here […]

Adjective-Infinitive Collocations - My Lingua Academy · 30 Jan 2026 at 9:01 am

[…] If you want to sound more natural and confident, then stop translating word by word and start learning patterns like adjective + to-infinitive. They will help you express opinions clearly, describe situations more precisely, and score higher in B2 First and C1 Advanced writing and speaking tasks. Small structure, big impact — a bit like good manners or punctuality. Quietly powerful. Learn verb + preposition collocations here […]

Verb + Preposition Collocations

Published by My Lingua Academy on 20 Feb 202320 Feb 2023

Verb + ABOUT