Verbs with prepositions
Verbs that always take a particular preposition, such as depend on and listen to, and verbs that take none although their Ukrainian or Russian equivalents do.
When you use it
Many English verbs are tied to one preposition: you wait for something, listen to someone, depend on the weather. The preposition does not carry a separate meaning; it is simply part of the verb, the way a case ending is part of a Ukrainian or Russian noun. You need these combinations every time you describe what someone does to or with something else, and there is no rule that predicts them. What you can learn is a core list, the shape of what follows, and the verbs that take no preposition at all.
How it is formed
The pattern is verb + preposition + object. The object can be a noun, a pronoun or an -ing form; it can never be a to-infinitive. In questions and relative clauses the preposition normally stays at the end: What are you waiting for?
| Preposition | Verbs that take it |
|---|---|
| on | depend on, rely on, insist on, concentrate on, spend money on, congratulate someone on |
| for | wait for, pay for, ask for, apologise for, look for, thank someone for, blame someone for |
| to | listen to, belong to, talk to, explain something to, apologise to someone, reply to |
| about | worry about, complain about, think about, talk about, care about |
| at | look at, laugh at, arrive at (a building), be good at |
| in | believe in, succeed in, arrive in (a city or country), be interested in |
| of | consist of, think of (have an idea), remind someone of, accuse someone of |
| from | suffer from, prevent someone from, differ from |
| with | agree with, deal with, share something with |
Notice the two-object verbs: explain something to someone, thank someone for something, congratulate someone on something. The person and the thing take different positions, and the preposition goes with the second one.
Just as important is the opposite list. These verbs take a direct object with no preposition, although their Slavic equivalents have one.
| Verb | Correct | Not |
|---|---|---|
| enter | enter the room | enter into the room |
| discuss | discuss the plan | discuss about the plan |
| answer | answer the question | answer to the question |
| phone / call | call me | call to me |
| marry | marry Tom | marry with Tom |
| reach | reach the station | reach to the station |
| attend | attend a meeting | attend at a meeting |
| approach | approach the house | approach to the house |
| lack | lack experience | lack of experience (as a verb) |
Examples
- It depends on the weather.
- Anna is waiting for the bus.
- I will pay for dinner tonight.
- Tom never listens to advice.
- She apologised for being late.
- Who does this bag belong to?
- We discussed the plan for an hour.
- Please answer the question.
A note on spelling: apologise is the British form, apologize the American one. Both are standard.
Common mistakes
- ✗ It depends of the weather. / ✗ It depends from the weather.
✓ It depends on the weather.
Залежить від and зависит от translate as from, and speakers of French or German bring of or von. The English verb takes on and nothing else. - ✗ We discussed about the problem.
✓ We discussed the problem.
Обговорювати and обсуждать take a direct object, so the preposition is not a transfer from the mother tongue; it comes from the parallel verb talk about. Discuss already contains the meaning of about. - ✗ I'll call to you tomorrow. / ✗ He entered into the room.
✓ I'll call you tomorrow. / ✓ He entered the room.
Russian позвонить тебе has a dative ending and войти в комнату has a preposition, and both feel like they need something between the verb and the object. English call, phone and enter take the object directly. - ✗ Listen me. / ✗ I'm waiting the bus.
✓ Listen to me. / ✓ I'm waiting for the bus.
Here the transfer runs the other way: слухай мене and чекаю автобус have no preposition, so the English one is dropped. Listen and wait are never used without theirs before an object. - ✗ For what are you looking?
✓ What are you looking for?
Ukrainian and Russian put the preposition before the question word (на що, о чём). Spoken and ordinary written English leave the preposition at the end of the question. Moving it to the front is possible only in very formal style and only with whom or which.
Try it
- I am not very good ___ maths.
- Tom apologised ___ Anna ___ forgetting her birthday.
- Did you enter ___ the building through the back door? (write a preposition or a dash for none)
- Who does this coat belong ___?
- They arrived ___ Kyiv late on Friday.