Verbs and Prepositions. When prepositions are used with certain verbs. Prepositions in English with examples of prepositions. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and Free printable PDF.

Verbs and Prepositions



Verbs and Prepositions


Some verbs need a preposition before an object or another verb. The preposition is only grammatical, so it doesn’t change the meaning of the verb.

There are no grammatical rules to help you know which preposition is used with which verb, so it’s a good idea to try to learn them together.



Exercises

Verbs and Prepositions

EXERCISE 1.

Complete the sentences using the following verbs.

Think about   take care of   raise by      long for       look for

  1. I’m exhausted, I’ve lost my dog and I’ve been ___________________ him all day.
  2. The police managed to arrest all the criminals _____________________ the robbery.
  3. Don’t worry! I’ll _______________________ your cat while you’re on holiday.
  4. Their French is very good because they were _______________________ in France.
  5. My father was _________________________ his grandma.
  6. He’s still very sensitive about his dog’s death, it’s better not to_______________________ it.
  7. Canary islands _______________________________ Spain.
  8. _______________________ the song very carefully! Can you recognise the singer?
  9. You’re never satisfied, what do you______________________________ ?
  10. They never _____________________ their problems even if they don’t know how to solve them.
  11. I can’t help _______________________________ about my next holidays.
  12. This picture _______________________________ my father’s collection.
  13. I was not interested in the meeting at all I don’t even know what they _______________________________.
  14. I’ve always ______________________ a job that ____________________ a lot of travelling.
  15. I’ve been thinking ________ what you said all day.
  16. Tarzan ________________________ an ape.
  17. His speech doesn’t make any sense, I don’t understand what he’s  _________________________________.

EXERCISE 2.

Transform the following sentences using one of the following.

To concentrate on   To live on   To care for    To hear from      To suffer from  To depend on    To consist of   To apply for     To rely on     To look for

Example:

In my dreams I imagine I’m a famous actress.

I dream of being a famous actress.

  1. Before going to the Seychelles we have to get new passports.
  2. It seems that he doesn’t love her very much.
  3. She has been searching for her glasses all morning. Have you seen them?
  4. A good salesman should give all his attention to his customers’ requests, rather than trying to convince them to buy a product they don’t want.
  5. I still live with my parents so they pay the rent and the grocery bills.
  6. When my husband was sick with pneumonia our dog used to cry during the night. I think dogs are more sensitive than people.
  7. “Has Jonathon called you? I presume you know he’s married?”
  8. I’m frustrated because I haven’t got a job and my husband pays for everything.
  9. Believe me! She’s the perfect assistant, you can trust her.
  10. He loves to go on holiday without his parents, mainly because nobody tells him what to eat, so he eats only junk food.

EXERCISE 3.

Put in the correct proposition after the verb in the sentence. The prepositions can be used more than once:

in, into, about/around, under, out of, up, over, off, onto, from, across

  1. His erratic lifestyle did not  help her to believe ___ him.
  2. The few flurries soon turned ____ a  snow storm.
  3. The children ran ___ the house like demons.
  4. The cop ordered the boy to stop playing ___ with his key chain.
  5. The plane flew ___ the bridge to the delight of the children watching.
  6. The train went ___ but did not come __ the long tunnel.
  7. Political scandals are quickly covered ___ in this country.
  8. The boy fell ___ love with his teacher the minute he saw her.
  9. While camping, falling ___ logs is a constant hazard.
  10. Falling ___ logs is very fun and inexpensive sport.
  11. His face screwed ___ in pain.
  12. He couldn’t clean the dishes, he had to take ___ the plants!
  13. That hill is ___ the county line.
  14. That student is ___ the age limit!
  15. The monster turned ___ an angel at the sight of cerulean blue.
  16. The specie eventually evolved ___ a higher form of life that was able to order a meal in a restaurant.
  17. The boy fell ___ hysterical laughter at the sight of the soaking wet door to door salesperson.
  18. The man looked left and the man looked right before crossing the street but he didn’t look ___ and was subsequently killed by a 50 pound pigeon who had suffered ___ a heart attack in mid flight and plummeted ___ the man’s head.
  19. The blackmailer got violent when his victim wouldn’t hand  ___ the money.
  20. The researcher came _____ an obscure but very interesting reference to muck lucks while studying the proto-capitalistic trading customs of a now            extinct Finnish Lapp tribe and decided to get _____ touch with his project chief right away.

VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS WITH PREPOSITIONS

EXERCISE 1.

Complete the sentences using the correct preposition.

Eg.   I’m really looking forward TO seeing you.

  1. How ____________ going to the cinema tonight?
  2. When I found ______________ that you weren’t Italian I was amazed. Your Italian is absolutely perfect.
  3. Anna and Tom are really in love ___________ each other. How nice!
  4. I have been ill for a week and now I have to catch up ___________ all the work that has been left behind…
  5. During the meeting one of my colleagues came ___________ with a really good joke that made everybody laugh.
  6. Gianni is 30 and he still lives with his parents. Fortunately he gets ___________ very well ____________ them.
  7. I’m going to see my sister next week. I hope she can put me _______ for a night or two, because I really can’t afford a hotel.
  8. Have you really given _________ smoking? It’s incredible! You used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
  9. It’s so cold. I could do _____________ a nice cup of tea.
  10. “What time are we leaving for the mountains tomorrow?”
  11. “I’ll pick you ___________ at 8 o’ clock, shall I?”
  12. I can’t put ______________ with this terrible weather! I hate the North of Italy! I want to go to the sea-side…”
  13. “Hello. Can I speak to Dr Thompson, please?”
  14. “Hold ___________, please. I’ll pass you _______________ to him immediately.”
  15. Adam is really good ___________ playing the trumpet. He can improvise really well.
  16. “Are you doing anything nice at the weekend?”
  17. “I don’t know. It depends ___________ the weather.”
  18. I’ve been looking ____________ a new job for months now and I haven’t found one yet.

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2 Comments

  1. I am afraid the first excercise is full of mistakes and it seems the author didn’t know well the meaning of the words he suggested for answers.

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