What you'll learn
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to use the preposition that each verb, adjective and noun demands.
When do I use it?
Many words require a fixed preposition. There is no rule — you learn them as chunks:
- Adjective + preposition: interested in, afraid of, good/bad at, proud of, worried about, married to, different from, similar to.
- Verb + preposition: depend on, look forward to, apologise for, apply for, agree with, belong to, pay for, succeed in.
- Noun + preposition: interest in, reason for, problem with, experience of, advantage of, effect on.
A wrong preposition sounds unnatural even when the idea is clear: "depend of" is wrong, "depend on" is right.
How do I form it?
adjective/verb/noun + fixed preposition
- She is interested in art.
- He's afraid of spiders.
- They depend on public transport.
- I apologised for the delay.
- There's no reason for the change.
- The noise had a big effect on us.
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
Spanish prepositions don't match English: "depender de" is "depend on" (not "depend of"), "interesado en" is "interested in" (fine!), but "bueno en" is "good at", "casado con" is "married to", "tener éxito en" is "succeed in". Keep a list and learn the chunk, not a translation. After the preposition, the verb always takes -ing: "interested in learning", "good at cooking".
Learn chunks: interested in, good at, depend on, married to, afraid of, reason for.
Practice
Multiple Choice
B2Which sentence is correct?
Fill in the Blank
B2He is afraid flying.
Hint: afraid + of.
Find the Error
B2Sentence Transformation
B2Task: Add the correct preposition
Hint: proud + of.
Practice Speaking
Apply what you've learned in a real conversation with AI feedback.
Level: B2