English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate » Unit 77: Verb or adjective + preposition

Word List
  • afraid (of)
  • agree [have the same opinion]
  • aware of
  • belong to
  • concentrate
  • depend (on sth) [not sure about sth]
  • depend on sb [need sb to support you]
  • different from
  • good/bad at sth
  • interested in
  • mad about sb
  • rely on
  • satisfied with
  • short of sth
  • shout at/to sb
  • similar
  • something wrong with
  • spend (money) on
  • think of (+-ing)
  • throw sth to/at sb
  • tired of sth
  • translate (sth into sth)
  • worry about sth
Exercises

77.1 ‣ Match the sentence beginnings on the left with the best endings on the right.

  1. He’s tired
  2. She wasn’t aware _____
  3. He threw the pen to _____
  4. She complained _____
  5. He shouted at _____
  6. He shouted to _____
  7. He threw the book at _____
  8. I don’t agree _____
  1. a) me, but it missed.
  2. b) to the manager.
  3. c) of working at weekends.
  4. d) his friend on the other side of the lake.
  5. e) me, but I dropped it.
  6. f) with them.
  7. g) us to get out of his garden.
  8. h) of her mistakes.

77.2 ‣ Complete the dialogues.

  1. A: Are you going to the exhibition?
    B: Yes, I’m very in art.
  2. A: Is she _____ to her sister?
    B: No, they’re completely different.
  3. A: What did she _____ about?
    B: She wasn’t happy with the food.
  4. A: Angel is very good-looking.
    B: That’s why I’m _____ about him!
  5. A: What’s _____ with the radio?
    B: I don’t know, but it’s not working.
  6. A: Did you like the course?
    B: No, I wasn’t very satisfied _____ it.
  7. A: What’s the matter?
    B: I can’t _____ on this with the TV on.
  8. A: It’s a big problem.
    B: Yes, but we’re _____ of that.
  9. A: We’re a bit _____ of milk.
    B: OK. I’ll buy some when I go out.
  10. A: Do Max’s children have jobs?
    B: No, they still _____ on their parents.

77.3 ‣ Do you know which preposition follows the words below? They are all in this book. If you don’t know, use the index to help you. A good dictionary will tell you if a verb or adjective is usually followed by a special preposition.

  1. keen _____
  2. suffer _____
  3. succeed _____
  4. get married _____
  5. apply _____
  6. apologise _____

77.4 ‣

Over to you

Complete the sentences about yourself. If possible, compare your answers with someone else.

  1. I’m not very good _____.
  2. I’ve always been interested _____.
  3. I’m not very fond _____.
  4. I spend most of my money _____.
  5. For my next holiday, I’m thinking _____.
Answer Key
A ‣ Verb + preposition

Pay special attention to prepositions that are different in your language.

Paul doesn’t like the manager’s decision and I agree with him. [have the same opinion as]

Don’t worry about your exam. [be nervous about]

His teachers were satisfied with his progress. [pleased with]

Many people spend a lot of money on clothes.

I’m thinking of going to China. [it’s my plan to go] (used in the continuous form)

This land belongs to the company. [it is the company’s land]

I translated the letter into French. [changed from one language into another]

She complained to the manager about the food. [said she wasn’t happy/satisfied with]

I can’t concentrate on [think about] my work when the radio is playing.

We can rely on this photocopier. [trust it; it will not go wrong]

I may go but it depends on the weather. [used to say you are not sure about something]

Language help

Depend (on) has other meanings:
Martha depends on her son for money. [she needs his money]
We can depend on the others for support. [we can trust the others to support us]
Remember: it depends on something or someone (NOT it depends of something or someone)

B ‣ Prepositions that change the meaning


  1. She shouted to me. [spoke in a loud voice to be heard]

  2. He shouted at me. [spoke in a loud voice because he was angry]

  3. He threw the ball to me. [for me to catch it]

  4. He threw the ball at me. [in order to hit me]

C ‣ Adjective + preposition

I’ve never been very good at maths. (opp bad at)

She’s afraid off lying. [frightened of]

The neighbours are fond of the children. [like]

She’s similar to her sister [the same as her in some ways], but very different from her brother.

He’s very interested in photography.

I think she’s aware of the problem. [knows about]

I’m tired of people telling me what to do. [bored or a bit angry about]

Katya is mad about Brad Pitt. [likes him very much; infml]

We’re short of coffee at the moment. [we don’t have much]

There’s something wrong with this TV. [the TV is not working correctly]

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