20 Helpful English Collocations: Verbs Followed by Prepositions

Verbs followed by prepositions are a common feature of the English language, and they are essential for expressing various ideas and concepts accurately and effectively. These combinations of verbs and prepositions are called “verb-preposition collocations” and they are used to indicate the relationship between the verb and the object or noun that follows it. Some common verb-preposition collocations include “depend on,” “believe in,” “look for,” “wait for,” and “apologize for.” In this article, we learn some of the most common verb-preposition collocations and provide examples of how they are used in context.

Verbs Followed by Prepositions

• Accuse someone of (doing) something

E.g. His mother accused him of eating the entire cake.

• Agree with (someone)

E.g. Matt does not agree with my answer.

• Apologize for something/ someone

E.g. Jackson apologized for his rude behavior.

• Applogize for

E.g. I want to applogize for my mistakes.

• Believe in (something)

E.g. John believes in oat bran.

• Blame someone for (doing) something

E.g. I blame Janet for the broken pottery.

• Borrow (something) from (someone)

E.g. Can I borrow a hammer from you?

• Care for (doing) something / someone

E.g. He doesn’t care for playing golf.

• Complain to (someone)/ about (something)

E.g. You are always complaining about me.

• Compare (something) to/ with (something else)

E.g. Let’s compare the virtues of savings accounts with investing in bonds.

• Depend on someone / (doing) something

E.g. We depend on our customers’ suggestions.

• Dream about (doing) something

E.g. Mark dreams about becoming a ballet dancer.

• Implicate someone in (doing) something

E.g. The boss implicated Peter in the crime.

• Invite (someone) to (an event)

E.g. She invited herself to this affair.

• Protest against (doing) something

E.g. The students are protesting against the invasion.

• Remind someone of (doing) something / someone

E.g. Peter reminded me of Tom.

• Search for (something)

E.g. Detectives carried out a thorough search of the building.

• Take care of (something/someone)

E.g. Who’staking care of the children while you’re away?

• Wait for (someone/something)

Wait for me!

• Subtract (something) from (something else)

E.g. If you subtract 6 from 9, you get 3.

Verbs Followed by Prepositions | Image