Prepositional verbs

Teresa

27/02/2023

Prepositional verbs are a combination of a verb plus a preposition.

Infografía

What are prepositional verbs?

Prepositional verbs are a combination of a verb plus a preposition. Do not confuse these forms with phrasal verbs since they are very different from each other regarding structure, meaning and usage.

The combination of these two items derives from common usage, which means that a set of rules cannot be provided in order to learn them. Moreover, the combination between verb and preposition is not closed to a single set. That is to say, one verb can be accompanied by several prepositions. The change in the preposition does not necessarily mean that there is a change in meaning, for example, dream of and dream about can be interchangeable:

-I always dream about / of being a famous singer.

However, in other verbs, changing the preposition will lead to a change in meaning. This happens in the verb hear, look at the examples:

– I heard about your wedding yesterday night = somebody told you something.

– Have you heard of Charles Dickens? He is a very famous writer = be familiar with / know that something or somebody exists.

– I heard from Laura last Friday, she is studying in London = keeping in contact with somebody.

Characteristics

Have a direct object
The preposition has a grammatical meaning. Which means that it’s not melted with the meaning of the verb.
You need the preposition. No matter the position in the sentence, the preposition must appear. What are you good?* → What are you good at?

Examples

Break into	It’s difficult for young people to break into the labour market.
Crash into	If you’re not careful you may crash into the lake.
Drive into	They drove into the wall when they lost control of the car.
Run into	Many companies run into difficulties during the first years of expansion.
Divide into	The class was divided into different groups.
Cut into	The papers were cut into different sizes.
Split into	It may be split into a number of payments over a period defined in the particular pre-financing agreement.
Translate into	This edition was translated into five languages.

Believe in	She is someone I really believe in.
Specialise in	My degree focuses on maths and does not specialise in anything else.

Agree with	He is a person I don’t always agree with.
Collide with	This new method collides with traditional points of view.
Fill something with	Now breathe and fill your stomach with air.
Provide with	I was provided with all the information before the test.
Begin with	To begin with, efficient management will reduce tension among the employees.

Concentrate on	I will now concentrate on making new approaches.
Insist on	Clients who insist on short execution deadlines will face long-term problems.
Spend money on	How much money do you spend on clothes each year?

Teresa

Licenciada en Filología Inglesa, Máster en TIC para la enseñanza y procesamiento de lenguas, profesora EFL, traductora en reuniones internacionales, y preparadora de Cambridge. Especializada en procesamiento de lenguas y creación de contenido e-learning.