Say exactly what it depends on
I can choose the right preposition after a verb, a noun and an adjective — and notice where it is different from my own language.
Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.
Grammar
15 min"Depend on", "wait for a bus", "listen to music", "explain to me". In every language the verb itself decides whether it needs a preposition and which one. An English verb decides too, but in its own way. Sometimes it matches your language, but only by chance: in many languages "depend" takes a word that means "from" or "of" — German abhängen von, French dépendre de, Polish zależeć od — while English says depend on, not from. So you learn the preposition after a verb together with the verb, as part of the word. The same is true for nouns and adjectives: a verb, a noun and an adjective with a preposition make one system, "word + preposition".
The form. The preposition goes straight after the verb, and after it comes what the action is about: It depends on the weather. I'm waiting for the bus. In the negative the preposition stays with the verb: I don't agree with you. And if the question asks about what comes after the preposition, the preposition itself goes to the end — in the same way as in the clauses of B1 #17:
| I'm waiting for Tom. | Who are you waiting for? |
| It depends on the price. | What does it depend on? |
| This bag belongs to Anna. | Who does this bag belong to? |
| They're talking about the new manager. | Who are they talking about? |
A preposition at the end of a question is normal in spoken English, not carelessness.
Verbs with a preposition. The prepositions here are not completely random: each one has its own direction, and it helps you remember the verbs in groups.
| preposition | what it adds | verbs |
|---|---|---|
| for | what you want to get | wait for, look for (try to find), ask for, apply for, pay for |
| to | who it is directed at | listen to, talk to, belong to, reply to, happen to |
| about | the topic | think about, talk about, worry about, complain about |
| on | support | depend on, concentrate on, spend money on |
| at | the point you look at | look at, laugh at, point at |
| with | together with someone | agree with, argue with |
| of | what it is made of | consist of |
pay needs attention. You pay for a thing — pay for the coffee, but the bill itself, the person or the amount take no preposition: pay the bill, pay the waiter, pay ten pounds.
look makes three different verbs — with it the preposition decides the whole meaning:
| I'm looking for my keys. | I'm trying to find my keys. |
| Look at this photo! | Turn your eyes to this photo! |
| She looks after her grandmother. | She takes care of her grandmother. |
Verb + someone + preposition. Some verbs have two objects, and the preposition goes before the second one: thank someone for something, ask someone for something, spend money on something, borrow something from someone. Thanks for your help. I asked my boss for a day off. We spent too much on the hotel.
A special trap is explain. In many languages "explain me" needs no preposition — German erklär mir, Spanish explícame, French explique-moi — and English give me and show me work that way too. But in English the person you explain to is joined only with to: Can you explain the rule to me? Or: Can you explain to me how it works? describe something to someone and say something to someone work the same way.
Verbs with no preposition. The opposite trap: in your language the verb may need a preposition, but the English verb takes none.
| ✗ | ✓ | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| discuss about the plan | discuss the plan | talk about the plan |
| enter into the room | enter the room | go into the room |
| answer to the question | answer the question | give an answer to the question |
| marry with him | marry him | become his wife |
| phone to her | phone her | call her on the phone |
| reach to the station | reach the station | get to the station |
| join to the club | join the club | become a member of the club |
Nouns with a preposition. Nouns have their own prepositions, and often not the same as the related verb:
| the reason for the delay | why it is late |
| the answer to the question | what you say when someone asks it |
| a solution to the problem | a way to deal with the problem |
| the key to the door | the key that opens the door |
| an invitation to the party | when someone asks you to come to the party |
| an interest in history | you like learning about history |
| the difference between them | how they are not the same |
| a problem with the car | something is wrong with the car |
Adjectives with a preposition. The third part of the same system. After many adjectives there is also a preposition of their own, and you can't guess it from your language: in many languages you are "good in" maths (German gut in, French bon en, Spanish bueno en) — English says good at maths; you are angry "on" someone (German wütend auf, Polish zły na) — English says angry with him. You remember the whole combination:
| good at / bad at | She's good at maths. |
| interested in | I'm interested in history. |
| afraid of | He's afraid of dogs. |
| proud of | We're proud of our daughter. |
| tired of | I'm tired of waiting. — I don't want to wait any more. |
| keen on | He's keen on football. — He likes football a lot. |
| worried about | They're worried about money. |
| angry with someone, about something | She was angry with me about the car. |
| pleased with | I'm pleased with the result. |
| different from | My job is different from yours. |
| famous for | The town is famous for its cheese. |
| full of | The room was full of people. |
| married to | She's married to a doctor. |
Many of them are -ed forms from B1 #26: interested in, worried about, disappointed with. Often an adjective has the same preposition as the related verb or noun: worry about — worried about, an interest in — interested in. tired and tired of are different things: I'm tired — I need rest, I'm tired of it — I've had enough of it. keen on is a very British combination: I'm not keen on spicy food — I don't really like spicy food. Instead of different from British speakers often say different to; that is correct too.
Compare a verb and a noun from the same root:
| Please answer the question. | verb — no preposition |
| What's the answer to the question? | noun — with to |
| We discussed the plan. | verb — no preposition |
| We had a discussion about the plan. | noun — with about |
After a preposition the verb is in the -ing form — after any preposition: after a verb, as in I'm thinking about moving, Thanks for coming, She insisted on paying (B1 #16), and after an adjective: good at cooking, afraid of flying, tired of waiting.
More examples:
| I agree with you, but it depends on the price. | I think you're right, but the price will decide. |
| What happened to your car? | Did something go wrong with your car? |
| He spent all his money on books. | He used all his money to buy books. |
| The team consists of six people. | There are six people in the team. |
Don't say this. ✗ What are you waiting? → ✓ What are you waiting for? Without the preposition at the end the question loses its meaning: wait and wait for are different verbs.
Check yourself. Will you go to the beach on Sunday? If it's sunny, yes; if it rains, no. How do you say that in one short sentence about the weather? What is wrong with We discussed about the price? Which prepositions come after good, afraid and proud?
show the answers
Common learner errors
written for your languageThe preposition from your own language
✗ It depends of the weather, ✗ It depends from the price → ✓ It depends on…. French dépendre de, Spanish depender de, Italian dipendere da give of or from; German abhängen von and Polish zależeć od give from. ✗ afraid from dogs → ✓ afraid of dogs: Arabic khāʾif min uses "from".
A missing preposition
✗ I listen music → ✓ I listen to music. ✗ We waited the bus → ✓ We waited for the bus. Spanish escuchar música, esperar el autobús, French écouter de la musique, attendre le bus, Chinese tīng yīnyuè, děng gōngjiāochē have a direct object with no preposition. But listen and wait can't join an object without one.
An extra preposition
✗ discuss about the plan
✗ enter into the room
✗ marry with him
✓ discuss the plan
enter the room, marry him. Next to discuss there is talk about, and about moves over to discuss. French entrer dans, Spanish entrar en, casarse con, Italian sposarsi con bring their preposition with them.
to after answer and phone
✗ answer to the question → ✓ answer the question. ✗ phone to her → ✓ phone her. French répondre à, téléphoner à, Spanish responder a, Italian rispondere a, telefonare a and German antworten auf have a preposition here; the English verbs take a direct object.
explain me
✗ Explain me the rule → ✓ Explain the rule to me. ✗ Can you explain me how it works? → ✓ Can you explain to me how it works? German erklär mir, Spanish explícame, French explique-moi put "me" straight after the verb, as English does with give me and show me. But explain can't do this: it joins the person only with to.
The preposition after an adjective
✗ good in maths → ✓ good at maths. ✗ married with a doctor → ✓ married to a doctor. German gut in, French bon en; Spanish casada con, French mariée avec, German verheiratet mit. The phrase married with children exists, but it means something else: "married, and has children".
Pronunciation
3 minInside a phrase a preposition is unstressed: for /fə/, to /tə/, at /ət/, of /əv/, from /frəm/. I'm waiting for the bus — /aɪm ˈweɪtɪŋ fə ðə ˈbʌs/. The stress is on the verb and on the noun.
At the end of a question the preposition sounds full. Who are you waiting for? — /fɔː/, Who does it belong to? — /tuː/, What are you looking at? — /æt/. The weak form is not used at the end of a phrase.
A verb and a preposition join into one word: depends on /dɪˈpendz ɒn/, look at /ˈlʊk ət/, listen to /ˈlɪsn tə/ — the letter t in listen is silent.
Text
5 minHi Sam,
Thanks for your message, and sorry I didn't reply to it sooner — it's been a busy week.
You asked about the job in Bristol. I applied for it at the start of the month, and on Monday I had the interview. They asked me a lot of questions about my last job and my reasons for leaving it. The answer to the last question took me ages: "What are you most proud of?" I'm still waiting for their decision, and I'm not very good at waiting. It depends on two things — how many other people they've interviewed and whether the manager agrees with me about the salary. We discussed it for half an hour, and I'm not sure we found a solution to the problem.
If I get the job, we'll have to look for a flat in Bristol. Anna doesn't worry about things like that, but I do. And who's going to look after Mum? She hates asking anyone for help, and she never listens to anybody but me.
Anyway, enough about me. What are you working on at the moment? And have you found out who that old bike in your garden belongs to?
Love, Kate
Exercises
30 min1. Put in a preposition.
- It all depends the weather
- We waited the bus for forty minutes
- Do you listen the radio in the car?
- Who does this umbrella belong ?
- He's afraid dogs
- She looks her grandmother at weekends
- She's very good languages
- I asked the waiter the bill
Show the answers
2. Put in a preposition
- We discussed the plan for an hour
- Please answer all the questions
- He entered the room without knocking
- I completely agree you
- She married a man from Glasgow
- I'm thinking changing my job
Show the answers
3. Error correction.
- It depends from the price.
- I listen music every morning.
- We discussed about the new timetable.
- Can you explain me this rule?
- The team consists from six people.
- My sister is married with a doctor.
- What is the reason of the delay?
Show the answers
4. Make a question
- I'm waiting for Tom. (who)
- This bag belongs to Anna. (who)
- It depends on the price. (what)
- She's worried about her exams. (what)
- They're talking about the new manager. (who)
- I'm looking for my keys. (what)
- He spent all his money on books. (what)
Show the answers
5. Rewrite with an adjective and a preposition.
- Spiders frighten him. (afraid)
- She plays tennis really well. (good)
- I don't want to wait any more. (tired)
- People know our town for its cheese. (famous)
- Our daughter passed all her exams. We feel great about her. (proud)
Show the answers
6. Say it in English.
Each line describes a situation in simple words. Say it with the forms of this lesson. 1) A friend asks: "Shall we go out tonight or stay in?" Tell your friend that their choice will decide it. 2) You have a new coffee machine, and you don't understand it. Ask the shop assistant, politely, to make clear to you how it works. 3) At the meeting you and your colleagues talked about the problem, but at the end you still had no way to deal with it. 4) A girl takes care of her brother, who is younger than her. 5) A man's daughter has won a prize. He feels very happy about her and tells everyone. 6) The screen of your friend's phone is broken. Ask what went wrong with it.
Show the answers
7. Answer in full sentences
— about yourself. The answers below are an example. 1) What do your weekend plans usually depend on? 2) What do you spend most of your money on? 3) Who do you usually ask for advice? 4) What are you good at, and what are you afraid of?
Show the answers
Summary
Covered: the "word + preposition" system — verb + preposition in groups (for, to, about, on, at, with, of), the preposition at the end of a question, three verbs with look, verb + someone + preposition, explain something to someone, seven verbs with no preposition, nouns with a preposition, thirteen "adjective + preposition" combinations, -ing after a preposition. Next — lesson 28: say exactly how.
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
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Vocabulary for your deck
19 words- depend on /dɪˈpend ɒn/ to be decided by something; to need someone or something
- belong to /bɪˈlɒŋ tə/ to be someone's
- consist of /kənˈsɪst əv/ to be made of certain parts
- look after /ˌlʊk ˈɑːftə/ to take care of someone or something
- reply to /rɪˈplaɪ tə/ to answer (a letter, a message)
- complain about /kəmˈpleɪn əˌbaʊt/ to say that something is wrong or that you are not happy with it
- concentrate on /ˈkɒnsntreɪt ɒn/ to give all your attention to something
- discuss /dɪˈskʌs/ to talk about something with other people
- explain /ɪkˈspleɪn/ to make something clear so that someone understands it
- marry /ˈmæri/ to become someone's husband or wife
- reason /ˈriːzn/ why something happens or why you do something
- solution /səˈluːʃn/ a way to deal with a problem
- decision /dɪˈsɪʒn/ a choice that you make
- interview /ˈɪntəvjuː/ a meeting where they ask you questions for a job
- salary /ˈsæləri/ the money you get for your work every month
- invitation /ˌɪnvɪˈteɪʃn/ when you ask someone to come somewhere
- proud of /ˈpraʊd əv/ pleased about what you or someone close to you has done
- keen on /ˈkiːn ɒn/ liking something very much
- afraid of /əˈfreɪd əv/ feeling fear of something
Writing
Six sentences about what your plans depend on, what you are waiting for, who you look after and what you discuss at home. At least one question with a preposition at the end and one adjective with a preposition.
Example
I'm thinking about changing my job, but it depends on a few things. I've applied for two jobs and I'm waiting for an answer. My parents are worried about me, but I try not to worry about it too much. My sister looks after her children and works part-time, so we often discuss money. Who do I usually ask for advice? My sister, of course.
Checklist
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