Many English verbs need a fixed preposition before their object: we depend on people, apologize for mistakes and belong to groups. There's usually no logic that tells you which preposition to use, so learn the verb and its preposition together, as one unit.
The pattern
Our plans depend on the weather.
She insisted on paying for lunch.
We discussed the problem.
01Learn them as pairs
The verb decides the preposition. Say each pair out loud until it feels like one word: depend on, rely on, insist on, succeed in, apologize for, approve of, consist of, belong to.
| Verb + preposition | Example |
|---|---|
| depend on | It depends on the price. |
| rely on | I rely on my phone for directions. |
| insist on | He always insists on driving. |
| succeed in | She succeeded in getting the job. |
| apologize for | We apologize for the delay. |
| approve of | My dad doesn't approve of tattoos. |
| consist of | The test consists of two parts. |
| belong to | This jacket belongs to Sam. |
02After a preposition, use -ing
A preposition is followed by a noun, a pronoun or an -ing form, never by to + verb. So we say insist on paying, not insist to pay, and succeed in finding, not succeed to find.
Some verbs take a person and a thing with two different prepositions: apologize to someone for something, complain to someone about something.
- I apologized to my roommate for eating her leftovers.
- We complained to the front desk about the noise.
- He finally succeeded in quitting sugar.
03Agree with, on and to
Agree with a person or an opinion. Agree on a decision that two or more people make together. Agree to a request or a suggestion, meaning you say yes. Agree to can also come before a verb: agree to help.
- I agree with Maria. The office is too cold.
- We agreed on a price for the car.
- The landlord agreed to our request.
- She agreed to lend me her car for the weekend.
04Verbs with no preposition
Some verbs take their object directly, with no preposition, even when your language uses one. Don't add one after discuss, enter, marry, call, contact, reach or answer. Compare: we discuss the plan, but we have a discussion about the plan.
Also note that approve with no preposition means give official permission (The city approved the new bike lanes), while approve of means you think something is good.
- Let's discuss your schedule on Monday.
- She married her college roommate's brother.
- Call me when you get home.
- We reached Phoenix at sunset.
05Common mistakes
Let's discuss about your idea tomorrow.
Let's discuss your idea tomorrow.
Discuss takes a direct object, with no about.
It depends of the traffic.
It depends on the traffic.
Depend always takes on.
She insisted to pay the check.
She insisted on paying the check.
Insist takes on, and a verb after a preposition takes -ing.
He married with a nurse from Ohio.
He married a nurse from Ohio.
Marry takes a direct object. You can also say he got married to a nurse.