Noun + Preposition Collocations

Noun + preposition collocations are combinations such as reason for, solution to, interest in and effect on.

These combinations are particularly useful for learners preparing for B2 First and C1 Advanced, because they occur frequently in Use of English, writing and speaking.

The best way to learn them is to learn the noun and preposition together as one expression.

Table of Contents

Nouns + OF

We often use of to express content, cause, possession or a connection between two things.

cause of	reason why something happened	Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
fear of	feeling of being frightened by something	She has a fear of flying.
love of	strong liking for something	His love of music began when he was young.
memory of	something remembered	I have a clear memory of my first day at school.
possibility of	chance that something may happen	There’s a possibility of rain later.
awareness of	knowledge that something exists	The campaign aims to increase awareness of the problem.
habit of	behaviour done regularly	He has a habit of interrupting people.
member of	person belonging to a group	She is a member of the committee.
photograph of	picture showing someone or something	He showed me a photograph of his family.

OF + -ing

Several of these expressions are naturally followed by an -ing form:

the possibility of moving abroad
a fear of flying
the habit of checking your phone constantly

Nouns + IN

We commonly use in with nouns involving change, participation, success, interest and experience in a particular field.

change in	alteration in something	We noticed a change in his behaviour.
fall in	decrease	There has been a fall in unemployment.
increase in	rise in amount or number	There has been an increase in prices.
rise in	increase	The country experienced a sharp rise in inflation.
interest in	desire to know more about something	She has always had an interest in science.
difficulty in	problem doing something	He had difficulty in understanding the instructions.
experience in	practical knowledge in a field	She has considerable experience in marketing.
success in	achievement in an activity	The company has had great success in overseas markets.
belief in	confidence in an idea, person or principle	She has a strong belief in equal opportunities.

Nouns + TO

We frequently use to with nouns expressing reaction, solution, access, attitude or damage.

solution to	answer to a problem	We need to find a solution to this problem.
answer to	response or solution	Do you know the answer to this question?
reaction to	response to something	His reaction to the news surprised us.
approach to	way of dealing with something	We need a different approach to the problem.
attitude to	opinion or feeling towards something	Her attitude to work has changed.
damage to	harm caused to something	The storm caused serious damage to several buildings.
threat to	something likely to cause harm	Pollution is a serious threat to wildlife.
access to	ability or right to use something	Students have access to the online library.
invitation to	request to attend something	We received an invitation to the wedding.

Be careful: TO is a preposition here

In expressions such as:

solution to
approach to
reaction to
access to

to is a preposition.

For example:

We need a new approach to teaching grammar.
His reaction to losing the match surprised everyone.

Nouns + ON

We often use on when something has an effect or influence on something else, or when information or discussion focuses on a particular subject.

effect on	result produced in something	Stress can have a negative effect on sleep.
influence on	power to affect someone or something	Parents have a strong influence on young children.
impact on	strong effect	Technology has had a major impact on education.
ban on	official prohibition	The government introduced a ban on smoking indoors.
information on	facts about a subject	The website provides information on local transport.
report on	written or spoken account of something	She wrote a report on climate change.
work on	activity involving a particular project	Work on the new bridge begins next month.
decision on	decision concerning a particular issue	We expect a decision on the proposal tomorrow.
debate on	formal discussion of a topic	There was a debate on education reform.

Nouns + ABOUT

We often use about when talking about a subject, concern, feeling or discussion.

concern about	worry about something	There is growing concern about air pollution.
confusion about	uncertainty about something	There was some confusion about the new rules.
anxiety about	worry or nervousness	He felt considerable anxiety about the interview.
story about	account concerning somebody or something	She told us a story about her childhood.
discussion about	conversation concerning a topic	We had a long discussion about the problem.
decision about	choice concerning something	We need to make a decision about where to stay.
debate about	discussion involving different opinions	The debate about artificial intelligence continues.

Nouns + WITH

We commonly use with to express relationships, connections and contact.

connection with	relationship between things	Police arrested a man in connection with the robbery.
relationship with	personal or professional connection	She has a good relationship with her colleagues.
contact with	communication or interaction	I’ve lost contact with several school friends.
quarrel with	argument with someone	He had a quarrel with his neighbour.
link with	connection with something	Researchers found a possible link with diet.
date with	arranged social meeting	I’ve got a date with Anna tonight.

Nouns + FOR

We often use for with nouns expressing reason, need, demand, purpose or suitability.

reason for	cause or explanation	What was the reason for the delay?
need for	necessity	There is an urgent need for more housing.
demand for	desire or requirement for something	Demand for electric cars is increasing.
search for	attempt to find something	The search for the missing hikers continued overnight.
respect for	admiration	She has great respect for her former teacher.
talent for	natural ability	He has a real talent for languages.
love for	strong affection	Her love for animals began in childhood.
preference for	liking one thing more than another	Many customers have a preference for locally produced food.
cure for	treatment that removes an illness or problem	Scientists continue to search for a cure for the disease.

Common Noun + Preposition Mistakes

❌ ~~What’s the reason of the delay?~~

✅ What’s the reason for the delay?

❌ ~~She’s interested in finding a solution of the problem.~~

✅ She’s interested in finding a solution to the problem.

❌ ~~There has been an increase of prices.~~

✅ There has been an increase in prices.

❌ ~~The new law had a major effect in businesses.~~

✅ The new law had a major effect on businesses.

❌ ~~She has a lot of experience on marketing.~~

✅ She has a lot of experience in marketing.

❌ ~~Do you have access of the database?~~

✅ Do you have access to the database?

Noun + Preposition Collocations Quiz

Download the noun + preposition collocations PDF exercise

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Noun + Preposition Collocations

Published by My Lingua Academy on 7 Feb 20247 Feb 2024