What you'll learn
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to use the prepositional phrases that make professional English sound natural.
When do I use it?
Workplace and business English is full of fixed prepositional phrases:
- Roles and responsibilities: in charge of, responsible for, in collaboration with, on behalf of.
- Agreements and reference: according to, in accordance with, with regard to, on the condition that.
- Time and schedules: ahead of schedule, behind schedule, on time, within the deadline.
- Communication: to agree on, to apologise for, to apply for, to reply to, to deal with, to listen to.
How do I form it?
in charge of + noun on behalf of + noun according to + source responsible for + noun / -ing
- She is in charge of the marketing team.
- I'm writing on behalf of my manager.
- According to the report, sales rose 10%.
- He is responsible for training new staff.
- We are ahead of schedule on this project.
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
"Encargado de" is "in charge of", not "charge of" or "in charge of to". "Según el informe" is "according to the report", not "according with". "En nombre de" is "on behalf of", not "in name of". And "reply the email" is wrong — it's "reply TO the email". In professional English these prepositions are not negotiable; a missing or wrong one sounds unprofessional.
in charge of, responsible for, according to, on behalf of, reply to.
Practice
Multiple Choice
B2Which sentence is correct?
Fill in the Blank
B2She is in charge the new project.
Hint: in charge + of.
Find the Error
B2Sentence Transformation
B2Task: Rewrite with 'on behalf of'
Hint: on behalf of + company.
Practice Speaking
Apply what you've learned in a real conversation with AI feedback.
Level: B2