List 11 - Prepositions
Sentence examples: prepositions after verbs (gladden by - muster up)
gladden by: Harry was gladdened by the birth of his first child.
glance at: John glanced at his watch and realized his watch had stopped working.
glance through: He had just enough time to glance through the paper at breakfast.
gloat over: The miser gloated over his money.
gloss over: Mike glossed over the loss of his job and started talking something else.
glow with: He entered the interview room glowing with confidence.
gossip about: Mrs. Goss loves to gossip about other people, especially her neighbours.
graduate from: He graduated from university with a degree in palmistry.
grieve about: She still grieves deeply about the loss of her father.
ground on/upon: You should ground your analysis on facts.
ground in: The new students were grounded in the basic principles of mathematics.
grumble about/at: My mother-in-law, like the farmers, is always grumbling about the weather.
haggle over/about: I haggled with the car salesman for about an hour over the price.
hear about: Did you hear about the latest mass killing?
help with: I helped her with the application form.
hide from: John would always hide under the bed from his drunk father.
hinder from: He’s hindered from a good night sleep by the constant noise from the expressway.
hint at: The spokesman hinted at the possible change of leadership.
hunt for: The police are hunting nationwide for the serial killer.
identify by: He was identified at an identity parade by a witness as the culprit.
impart to: The barman was happy to impart his knowledge of wine to me.
impose on/upon: A ban has been imposed on the sale of cigarettes to those below 18 years old.
impress by: We were impressed by the beauty of the rural landscape.
impress with: We were really impressed with the craftsmanship.
improve by: His musical skill can be improved by engaging a professional coach.
improve in: It is very advantageous to improve in whatever we are do.
include in: Labour charges are included in the bill for the repairs.
incorporate in: Not all the proposals and up-to-date information are incorporated in the report.
increase from: Budget for the welfare program has been increased from $500,000 to $800,000.
increase in: The sharp increase in crime is attributed to the current state of the economy.
inculcate in: Parents should inculcate a sense of discipline in their children.
indict for: The suspect was indicted for the crime of arson.
indulge in: I think we shouldn’t indulge in too much lunchtime drinking.
infect with: Some insects can infect human beings with deadly diseases.
infer from: One can reasonably infer from the evidence presented that insanity is hereditary.
infest with: The whole wasteland was heavily infested with rats.
inflate with: The egos of some people are really inflated with self-importance.
inflict on/upon: He’s found guilty for deliberately inflicting grievous bodily harm on his son.
inform of: The doctor will immediately inform you of any changes in her condition.
infuse with: The good news infused her with happiness.
inherit from: He inherited his loud and powerful voice from his grandfather.
inhibit from: The fear of ridicule inhibited students from raising questions.
initiate into: Last evening he was initiated into a religious cult.
insert in/into: Nick inserted a coin into the vending machine for some cigarettes.
insist on: She insisted on keeping a baby armadillo as a pet.
inspire by: The movie was really inspired by an actual event.
inspire to: Her dogged perseverance to succeed inspires others to do likewise.
instigate against: Foreigners were blamed for instigating a revolt against the government.
instill in/into: The parents instilled ethical values into their children at an early age.
instruct in: Ms. Olive instructed students in Latin.
intend for: The author’s second book was intended for golfing enthusiasts.
intercede with: The organization interceded with the authorities on my behalf.
interpolate in: Mary interpolated a casual remark in our conversation.
interrupt in: The leader was rudely interrupted in his speech by loud jeers.
intervene in: The police don’t usually intervene in what was essentially a private dispute.
introduce into: New subjects will be introduced into the syllabus next year.
intrude on/upon: We deeply resented her intruding on our conversation.
invite to: We have always been invited to her birthday.
involve in: I don’t see why I should involve myself in their affairs.
irritate by: He was irritated by the frequently loud argument that went on next door.
isolate from: The exceptionally violent child is isolated from other children.
jam with: The entrance was jammed with crowds trying to get in.
jeer at: The spectators jeered at their own team for their poor performance.
jockey for: The riders jockeyed for the best position.
joke with: The more we joked with each other, the closer we became.
judge by: We do not judge a book by its cover, do we?
judge from: Judging from the look on his face, we suspected he’s the one who took it.
jumble up: I arranged those things in a neat order but someone came along and jumbled them up.
justify to: He tried to justify his decision to us by saying that he had no alternative.
jut out: We marveled at the huge rocks jutting out from the steep side of the cliff.
know about: Nobody in the area knows much about the accident.
learn about: Did you learn about the birds and the bees when you were a child?
leave for: We’re leaving for London tonight.
lecture about/on: He lectures on the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome.
lend to: I lent the lawn mower to my neighbour.
levy a tax/fine/charge, etc. on: The state government has levied a new tax on gasoline.
lie on: Joe likes to lie on a bench in the park.
limit to: Each customer is limited to two packets.
listen to: We listened in silence to his boring stories.
live at: As far as I know, he still lives at the same address.
long for: Bob longed for an exciting experience at sea.
long to: He longed desperately to be with her.
look like: It looks like she is going to demand an explanation from him.
lure away: The company tried to lure the salesman away from their competitor.
lurk around: They called the police when they saw a man lurking around outside their house.
make a fool of: Whenever he is drunk, he is certain to make a fool of himself.
make a fuss about/over: She made a big fuss about not being offered a drink.
make love to: He tried to make love to every girl he met.
marvel at: I marvel at his ability to maintain composure in any given situation.
matter to: I’ll buy it, the colour does not matter to me.
meditate on/upon: He meditated on the different solutions to the problem.
mention to: She didn’t mention it to me when I met her last night.
migrate between: Some whales migrate between one part of the ocean and another.
migrate from: Some species of birds migrate from Europe to Africa.
mingle with: Participants from various nations mingled freely with each other after the events.
mix with: He does not mix well with other people.
model on: This system is modeled on the one that originated in the United States.
multiply by: Two multiplied by two is four.
muse on/over: He sat musing over the sudden change of attitude of his girlfriend.
muster up: He failed to muster up the minimum support required to stand for election.
Sentence examples:prepositions after verbs (name after - rush through)
name after: The street is named after a veteran politician.
narrow down: The judges have narrowed the finalists down to the last five
object to: I object to your casual comments about my hair.
obtain from: All this false information was obtained from the Internet.
operate on: The doctors had to operate on him immediately to save his life.
oppress by: Ethnic minorities had been oppressed by the occupying forces for years.
originate in: This crazy idea could only originate in your head.
outrage at: Women nationwide were outraged at his sexist remarks.
overcome by: His stammering was eventually overcome by speech therapy.
overrun by: The wasteland was overrun by rats.
overwhelm by: He was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response.
part from: I had to part from Jill before the game ended.
partake of: The guests partook of the ample food available at the gathering.
participate in: Everyone present was encouraged to participate in the discussions.
pass in: He passes in his authorization card before leaving the office for the day.
pattern on: An ardent fan of Elvis Presley, he patterned his behaviour after his.
perpetrate about: They perpetrated all sorts of malicious rumours about him
persevere in: She persevered in her studies to achieve the result she had hoped for.
persist in: Why do many people persist in believing mistakenly that UFOs are alien spaceships?
petition for: Local residents petitioned for better bus services.
plead with: Jack pleaded with Jill not to leave her.
point at: It is not respectable to point at someone.
pray to: Every night the family prayed to God for good health and happiness.
predicate on: His success in his exams is predicated on his determination to succeed.
prefer to: I prefer red colour to any of the other colours for my car.
prepare for: How many of us prepare ourselves for every eventuality in life?
present to: They presented the best actress award to her before a live audience.
present with: They presented him with an outstanding achievement award.
preserve for: The large number of historical records is preserved for posterity.
preserve from: The tribe preserved corpses from decomposition by wrapping them in cloth.
prevent from: The new legislation was to prevent whistleblowers from being publicly identified.
price out: The dentist has priced himself out of business by charging too heavily for his services.
proceed with: The protesters were not allowed to proceed with their political speeches.
produce from: They produce wine from grapes.
prohibit from: Nowadays people are prohibited from smoking in many areas.
propose to: At the meeting, he proposed measures to enlarge the club membership.
protect from: The legislation is to protect public property from vandalism.
protest against: The demonstration was organized to protest against police brutality.
prove to: Prove to me what you said that you can make a rabbit disappear.
provide with: The evacuees were provided with tents, blankets, and other necessities.
provoke to: What he did is certain to provoke them to retaliate.
pry into: Continual prying into other people’s private affairs will get him into trouble soon.
punish for: The serial killer will be severely punished for his crimes.
purchase from: We purchased some statuettes from a souvenir shop at the tourist resort.
purge from: All dissidents were purged from the party.
qualify for: So far, only three teams have qualified for the finals.
quarrel about: No one knows what the twins are quarrelling about.
query about: The auditors queried the company’s accountants about their financial statement.
question about: The police questioned him about his whereabouts on the night of the murder.
rage about/against: Joe raged against the bureaucratic and corrupt system.
rail against/at: Mary has been railing against the unjust system.
range from: The bookstore is selling books at prices ranging from about $5 to $500.
rank as/with: His performances rank him as one of the top five players in the country.
rate as: He is generally rated as one of the best writers of this century.
reach for: He was shot dead by the police before he could reach for his gun.
react to: Her boss reacted favourably to her decision to resign.
read about/of: Have you read the latest news about a man with three eyes?
read in: I read that rags-to-riches story in a magazine.
read to: I used to read to you when you were a child.
rebel against: Those who rebelled against the government were captured and executed.
recommend to: I definitely recommend this book to those of you interested in raising hamsters.
recover from: Mrs. Dean has yet to recover fully from her husband’s death.
recuperate from: She went to stay with her daughter to recuperate from her operation.
refrain from: The nurse asked me to refrain from using my cell phone.
regard as: The team’s last performance was regarded as the best ever .
reign over: The king reigned over the country for many years.
release from: He was released unconditionally from police detention.
remove from: He was removed from office for sexual misconduct.
reply to: Why should I reply to those baseless allegations?
report on: His newspaper sent him to Africa to report on the situation in Zimbabwe.
reprimand for: He was reprimanded for his negligence in duty.
reproach for: The teacher reproached them for not completing their homework.
request for: She likes to request for songs to be played on some radio programs
rescue from: Dogs and cats were also rescued from the burning building.
reserve for: They reserved the three front rows of seats for VIPs.
respond to: His illness failed to respond to the treatment.
restrain from: Many times I had to restrain myself from arguing with her.
retire from: He retired from his job for health reason.
return to: She never returned to me or to anybody any of the books she borrowed.
reveal to: Jan never revealed her origins to anybody.
revenge on: Jane seems intent on revenging herself on her husband for his disloyalty.
revolt against: A revolt against the leadership in the party has broken out.
reward for: He was rewarded for providing information that led to the arrest of the culprit.
reward with: She rewarded me with a kiss.
rise from: From a distance, we could see smoke rising from chimneys.
rival in: Our best players simply cannot rival our opponents in stamina.
rob of: The bus was hijacked and the passengers were robbed of all their possessions.
root in: The plants were rooted firmly in the hard earth and it wasn’t easy to just pull them out.
rule on: The judge will shortly rule on who will get custody of the child.
rule over: The absolute ruler ruled over a large empire.
run for: The villagers ran for their lives when there was a sudden volcanic eruption.
rush through: The staff rushed through the paper work to meet the deadline.
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