Verb + Preposition (Dependent Prepositions)

Advanced · Prepositions

Many verbs are permanently paired with a specific preposition: you "depend ON", "listen TO", "wait FOR". These are called dependent prepositions, and there is usually no logic — they must be memorized as fixed units.

A crucial detail: some verbs completely change meaning with different prepositions (look at / look for / look after), so the little word matters a lot.

How to build it

verb + fixed preposition + object (depend ON it, listen TO music, wait FOR me)

Rules & examples

  1. Common fixed pairs — learn them as one chunk.

    Say the verb and preposition together every time.

    • depend on, rely on, listen to, belong to, wait for, ask for, apologize for, agree with, deal with
  2. Verbs about talking/thinking often take specific prepositions.

    These come up constantly in conversation.

    • talk/speak to (or with), think about/of, worry about, dream about/of, complain about
  3. Same verb + different preposition = different meaning.

    The preposition changes the whole meaning.

    • look at (view), look for (search), look after (care for), look forward to (anticipate)
  4. After the preposition, a verb takes -ing.

    This includes "look forward TO", where "to" is a preposition, not an infinitive.

    • I look forward to seeing you.
    • She insisted on paying.
    • He succeeded in passing.

Tips to remember

  • Keep a running list of verb + preposition pairs as you meet them — this is memory work, not logic.
  • Watch out for "to": in "look forward to / be used to / object to", the "to" is a preposition, so use -ing (seeing, doing), NOT the base verb.

Common mistakes

  • ✗ I am listening the radio. → ✓ I am listening to the radio. — "listen" always needs "to" before its object.
  • ✗ I look forward to see you. → ✓ I look forward to seeing you. — Here "to" is a preposition, so the verb must be -ing.