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Collocations

120+ Verb Preposition Collocations in English

Verb preposition collocations are key to understanding and mastering fluent English. The lesson includes main sections like verbs with prepositions such as “to,” “for,” “from,” “on,” “at,” “about,” “with,” and “in.” You will also find examples, images, and videos to illustrate these combinations.

Verb Preposition Collocations

Verb Preposition Collocations in EnglishPin
Verb Preposition Collocations in English – Created by 7ESL

Verbs with Prepositions: TO

Learn useful verb collocations with the preposition TO in English.

  • Adapt to
  • Add to
  • Agree to
  • Apologize to
  • Belong to
  • Consent to
  • Devote to
  • Happen to
  • Lead to
  • Listen to
  • Object to
  • React to
  • Refer to
  • Reply to
  • Speak to
  • Talk to
  • Turn to

Verbs + Prepositions: FOR

List of common verbs followed by the preposition FOR.

  • Admire for
  • Apologize for
  • Apply for
  • Ask for
  • Blame for
  • Care for
  • Excuse for
  • Head for
  • Long for
  • Pay for
  • Pray for
  • Prepare for
  • Scold for
  • Search for
  • Vote for
  • Wait for
  • Wish for
  • Work for

Verbs + Prepositions: FROM

List of useful verb preposition collocations in English – the preposition FROM.

  • Abstain from
  • Borrow from
  • Escape from
  • Graduate from
  • Hide from
  • Infer from
  • Prevent from
  • Prohibit from
  • Protect from
  • Recover from
  • Rescue from
  • Resign from
  • Retire from
  • Save from
  • Separate from
  • Stem from
  • Suffer from

Verbs with Prepositions: ON

Learn common verb preposition combinations with the preposition ON in English.

  • Agree on
  • Base on
  • Be on
  • Blame on
  • Comment on
  • Concentrate on
  • Congratulate on
  • Count on
  • Depend on
  • Elaborate on
  • Impose on
  • Insist on
  • Play on
  • Pride on
  • Rely on
  • Work on

Verb Preposition Collocations: AT

  • Aim at
  • Arrive at
  • Glance at
  • Guess at
  • Hint at
  • Laugh at
  • Look at
  • Marvel at
  • Peer at
  • Point at
  • Smile at
  • Stare at
  • Wink at

Verb + Preposition: ABOUT

Learn common verb collocations with the preposition ABOUT.

  • Argue about
  • Ask about
  • Be about
  • Boast about
  • Care about
  • Concern about
  • Decide about
  • Dream about
  • Forget about
  • Know about
  • Laugh about
  • Protest about
  • Think about
  • Worry about

Verbs + Prepositions: WITH

Learn frequently used prepositions after verbs – the preposition WITH.

  • Acquaint with
  • Agree with
  • Associate with
  • Charge with
  • Clutter with
  • Coincide with
  • Collide with
  • Compare with
  • Comply with
  • Confront with
  • Confuse with
  • Cover with
  • Cram with
  • Deal with
  • Discuss with
  • Help with
  • Tamper with
  • Trust with

Verbs with Prepositions: IN

Learn useful preposition collocations with verbs – IN in English.

  • Absorb in
  • Arrive in
  • Be engrossed in
  • Believe in
  • Confide in
  • Implicate in
  • Involve in
  • Participate in
  • Result in
  • Specialize in
  • Succeed in
  • Trust in
List of Verb Preposition CombinationsPin
List of Verb Preposition Combinations – Created by 7ESL

Examples of Verb Preposition Collocations

  • The boys argued about which bus to take.
  • He always cares about me.
  • Don’t forget about the party you promised.
  • The students protested about the invasion.
  • Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right.
  • base my conclusions on market research.
  • She blames the lack of interest on the teacher’s poor explanation.
  • You can count on me anytime.
  • Can you elaborate on the process?
  • I like to pride myself on my ability to concentrate.
  • She is working on a new novel.
  • She had to apologize to the whole family.
  • I think you should apply yourself to getting a degree.
  • Professor Samson attributes this painting to Leonardo.
  • She committed herself to finding a new job.
  • There is no need for you to consent to anything.
  • Can you explain the rule to me?
  • Have you been invited to their party?
  • object to your opinion.
  • I want to apologize for my mistakes.
  • I voted for Mayor Martini.
  • All three are to be congratulated for doing so well.
  • I can’t excuse myself for not doing it.
  • Let me pay for Tom.
  • Rose scolded the child gently for her bad behavior.
  • I can vouch for her ability to work hard.
  • He always agrees with my opinion.
  • These mountains do not compare with the Himalayas.
  • She covered her face with her hands.
  • I’d like to discuss our next conference with the boss.
  • Peter packed his case with extra brochures.
  • We looked around the school and talked with the principal.
  • He derived the meaning from the context of the sentence.
  • Please distract Tim from the television.
  • The children were expelled from school for their bad behavior.
  • She seemed totally absorbed in her book.
  • You should participate in this training course
  • John succeeded in getting a new job.

Verbs with Prepositions | Videos

Verbs with Prepositions: 100+ Important Prepositional Verbs for Improving your English Fluency.

B1 Knowledge Check · 5 questions

120+ Verb Preposition Collocations in English — Practice Quiz

1 / 5
Q1

Question 1: Which preposition correctly follows the verb 'rely'?

Question 1 options
The correct combination is 'rely on.' The article lists 'rely on' under verbs with the preposition ON. The other prepositions do not form correct collocations with 'rely.'
Q2

Question 2: The verb 'discuss' is followed by the preposition 'about' in standard English verb-preposition combinations.

Question 2 options
This is false. The article lists 'discuss with' (e.g., 'I'd like to discuss our next conference with the boss'), not 'discuss about.' 'Discuss' takes the preposition 'with' when referring to the person you are talking to.
Q3

Question 3: She seemed totally ___ in her book and didn't notice anyone around her.

Question 3 options
The correct answer is 'absorbed.' The article lists 'absorb in' as a verb-preposition combination and provides the example 'She seemed totally absorbed in her book.' The other options do not collocate with 'in' in this context.
Q4

Question 4: Match each verb to the preposition it commonly combines with.

Question 4 options
apologize
suffer
concentrate
confide
in
from
to
on

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

'Apologize' pairs with 'to' (apologize to someone). 'Suffer' pairs with 'from' (suffer from an illness). 'Concentrate' pairs with 'on' (concentrate on a task). 'Confide' pairs with 'in' (confide in a friend). All of these combinations are listed in the article.
Q5

Question 5: Which sentence uses a verb-preposition combination correctly?

Question 5 options
'You can count on me anytime' is correct because 'count on' is a standard verb-preposition collocation meaning to rely on someone. 'Blame for' should be 'blame on' when the object is a thing/cause, 'arrive to' should be 'arrive at' or 'arrive in,' and 'listen for' should be 'listen to' when referring to paying attention to someone.

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