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What Is A Dependent Preposition
What Is A Dependent Preposition
Dependent prepositions are prepositions that depend on or must follow a particular verb, noun, or adjective.
Said in another way: when you use certain verbs, nouns, or adjectives, they are followed by a specific preposition (some use
different prepositions for different meanings, but we’ll get to that later…). In these situations, there is no point in asking why.
Sometimes there’s logic to the word combinations, but in most situations, there is no none.
Let’s look at an example sentence:
Grunge musicians ditched the costumes and flamboyant hair styles of the 80s and dressed in everyday style clothes and had
unkempt hairstyles.
In the sentence above, in is a dependent preposition, and that combination is what English speakers use to describe the clothes
someone is wearing. We don’t say dressed on, dressed down, dressed up, or any other combination in that instance.
Examples
She dressed in red for our first date.
To boost his confidence, Joe dressed in his favorite suit for the debate.
n addition, when identifying dependent prepositions, remember that a preposition is only followed by a noun or pronoun. This can
be confusing when looking at dependent prepositions like pleased with.
You may think, “But I thought you can use ‘pleased to’ as well.”
And you’re right! You can use pleased to, but it’s followed by a verb which makes it an infinitive. That’s not a dependent preposition.
It’s an adjective followed by an infinitive.
Examples of Infinitives
I’m pleased to meet you.
She was pleased to see her mother.
They were pleased to hear that she’s doing well.
That’s the problem for ESL students (and native speakers at times!). There is a VERY long list of these combinations, and they don’t
always translate well into other languages.
According to According to these documents, you’ve been married for over 20 years.
Anxious about The population seems anxious about the upcoming election.
Aware of I’m aware of his mistakes and will address them tomorrow.
Crazy about I was crazy about comic books when I was a kid.
Different from Alice was always different from all of the other girls.
Dissatisfied with I’m very dissatisfied with my purchase and would like a refund.
Enthusiastic about The girl was enthusiastic about her upcoming trip to Disneyland.
Famous for The restaurant is famous for its slow cooked dishes.
Fed up with I’m getting fed up with all of the inaction on this issue.
Pleased with The producers were pleased with the first draft of the script.
Popular with The show was popular with teenagers in the 1980s.
Puzzled by/about I’m puzzled by people who like to mix mayonnaise and mustard.
That season, everyone was puzzled about whether Joe was the killer or
not.
Responsible for As a police officer, he’s responsible for the safety of the public.
Safe from In that moment, we knew we were safe from anything that could harm
us.
Satisfied with I’m not satisfied with the results of this test.
Similar to Thriller novels are similar to horror novels with some subtle differences.
Sorry for/about He said that he was sorry for scratching her car.
Typical of It’s typical of bear cubs to leave their mothers at six to eight months.
Vigilant about They were vigilant about testing everyone for possible contamination.
Anxiety about She’s having anxiety about moving away from home.
Attitude towards Her attitude towards her father was very positive.
Comparison between You can draw a comparison between many acting teaching methods.
Demand for Investors are seeing a demand for more Apple products than last year.
Difference between Scientists are researching the difference between the two types of elements.
Impact on The level of pollution in the air has an impact on the health of the citizens.
Increase in The researcher cited an increase in crime over the past ten years.
Key factor in A key factor in our research was interviewing patients to see how they felt after
the treatment.
Lack of The school was suffering from a lack of supplies for the new year.
Need for Our office has a need for people like you.
Notice of The city sent notice of a delay in garbage pick up next week.
Prevent (something) from The idea is to prevent the dog from entering the house.
Rise in We’re seeing a rise in the number of speeding tickets this year.
Way to I’m looking for a way to fix my car with the tools I already have.
Accuse (somebody) of They accused Joey of stealing the candy, but he didn’t do it.
Advise (someone) to Our lawyer advised her to not say anything to the press.
Allow for The weather didn’t allow for a safe flight today.
Arise from Many problems arise from the use of tobacco products.
Attend to The nurse was the first person to attend to her needs.
Blame for I’m not the one to blame for his mistakes.
Choose between I can’t choose between the red or the white dress.
Comment on He would always comment on the state of politics in the country.
Compare with Few runners could compare with him when he was at his best.
Consist of The recipe consists of three types of fruits and some dairy.
Deal with They don’t want to deal with the problem at hand.
Deter (someone) from I didn’t want to deter him from pursuing his dreams.
Disappear from He just seemed to disappear from the face of the Earth.
Distinguish (someone) from He set out to distinguish himself from the rest of the group.
Find (something) for He set out to find the hat for her.
Fine (someone) for They decided to fine Jon for leaving his trash out on the street.
Forgive (somebody) for Will you ever forgive your dad for leaving?
Get (something) for I’m going to get a new sweater for him.
Hear of/about Did you ever hear of the old man in the tower?
Did you ever hear about the old man in the tower?
Hope for I can hope for a better solution, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Incorporated into The neighborhood was incorporated into the city in 1945.
Interfere with/in She would always interfere with her sister’s affairs.
She would always interfere in her sister’s affairs.
Joke about We always joked about running away, but we never did it.
Leave (something) for My mom is going to leave my lunch for me at the front office.
Long for I long for the day when I can go outside again.
Make (something) for She said she’s going to make a cake for her birthday.
Offer (something) to She wanted to offer a better loan to the couple, but their credit was awful.
Praise (somebody) for Always praise the dog for behaving well.
Present (somebody) with They’re going to present him with the medal at the ceremony.
Prevent (someone) from We did it to prevent him from buying the house.
Prohibit (someone) from The order prohibits her from being within 30 feet of the building.
Protect (someone or something) from We have to protect the house from water.
Provide (someone) with I always try to provide her with a hot meal at lunch.
Punish (someone) for They’re going to punish him for his actions last month.
Refer to If you’ll refer to your sheet, you’ll see what we’re discussing.
Rescue (something or someone) from They sent a helicopter to rescue him from the river.
Stare at I like to stop and stare at the ocean waves every afternoon.
Talk with/to (someone) about We need to talk to him about his actions.
Thank (someone) for Remind me to thank Jenny for her beautiful flowers.
Wait for We’re not going to wait for him all night.
Warn (someone) about He needs to warn him about the computer virus.
ask + something ask for I didn’t ask for anything too difficult.
graduate + something / of graduate from I graduated from university not long ago.
something
It’s been quite a while since we graduated from
university.
listen + something or somebody listen to I like to listen to the radio when I’m working out.
look forward for look forward to + I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Ving
She looked forward to her trip to Italy but then it got
cancelled.
wait + something or somebody wait for Will you wait for me?
Hopefully our list has answered any questions you have about dependent prepositions. Again, if we missed one or two, feel free to
leave a comment below! We’d love to get your feedback.
Ultimately, these dependent preposition combos should become part of your muscle memory. And you can’t master them without
context. Here are two examples of embarrassing mixups that we’ve noticed in the past. May they serve as good learning materials for
you.