Some English verbs need a preposition before their object. The preposition is not about place or time; it belongs to the verb. We say depend on, listen to and wait for, and no general rule predicts the choice.
Because the pair is fixed, the unit to learn is "verb + preposition". The same verb can take different prepositions with different meanings: agree with a person, agree to a plan and agree on a price.
This page groups the common pairs, shows the -ing form that follows a preposition, and finishes with a 20-question drill. Every answer names the verb and its preposition.
The rule
The verb and preposition form a unit
- English fixes a preposition to many verbs: depend on, listen to, wait for.
- The preposition is not about place or time; it is part of the verb.
- Learn the pair together and repeat it with a full example sentence.
- A wrong preposition makes the sentence sound foreign even when the meaning is clear.
Pairs with on, to and for
- Depend on and rely on: "It depends on the weather."
- Listen to and talk to: "Listen to the teacher."
- Wait for and look for: "We are waiting for the bus."
- Belong to and refer to: "This book belongs to me."
Pairs with at, in and about
- Arrive at a place and arrive in a city or country: "We arrived at the hotel."
- Believe in and succeed in: "She believes in hard work."
- Think about and talk about: "We talked about the plan."
- Succeed in and be interested in take an -ing verb: "He succeeded in passing."
Pairs with of, from and with
- Think of and dream of: "I thought of you."
- Come from and borrow from: "She comes from Canada."
- Agree with a person: "I agree with you."
- Help with and share with: "Can you help me with this?"
Word order and the -ing form
- A preposition is followed by a noun or an -ing verb: "depend on getting".
- The preposition stays with the verb, even in questions: "What are you waiting for?"
- Some verbs take more than one pattern: "agree with someone", "agree to a plan".
- Never add an extra preposition: "discuss the plan", not "discuss about the plan".
Examples
- It depends on the weather.Depend always takes on.
- Listen to the instructions carefully.Listen takes to before the thing you hear.
- We are waiting for the bus.Wait for takes the thing you expect.
- This book belongs to my sister.Belong takes to for the owner.
- We arrived at the hotel at noon.Arrive at takes a building or a small place.
- She believes in second chances.Believe in takes an idea or a value.
- They talked about the problem.Talk about takes the topic.
- He succeeded in passing the test.Succeed in takes an -ing verb.
- I agree with your idea.Agree with takes a person or an opinion.
- Can you help me with the bags?Help with takes the task or the object.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: It depends of the weather. Right: It depends on the weather.
- Depend is a fixed pair with on, never of.
- Wrong: Listen the teacher. Right: Listen to the teacher.
- Listen needs the preposition to before its object.
- Wrong: We discussed about the plan. Right: We discussed the plan.
- Discuss takes a direct object and no preposition.
- Wrong: I agree to you. Right: I agree with you.
- Agree with takes a person; agree to takes a plan or a proposal.
- Wrong: She arrived to the airport. Right: She arrived at the airport.
- Arrive takes at for a place such as an airport, and in for a city.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
It depends ___ the weather.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. on Depend is a fixed verb and preposition pair with on.
Listen ___ the instructions.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. to Listen takes the preposition to before the thing you hear.
We are waiting ___ the bus.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. for Wait for is the fixed pair for something you expect.
This book belongs ___ my sister.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. to Belong takes the preposition to before the owner.
We arrived ___ the hotel at noon.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. at Arrive takes at for a building or a small place, never to.
She believes ___ hard work.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. in Believe in takes an idea or a value.
They talked ___ the problem.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. about Talk about takes the topic of the conversation.
He succeeded ___ passing the test.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. in Succeed in takes the -ing form of the action.
I agree ___ your idea.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. with Agree with takes a person or an opinion.
Can you help me ___ the bags?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. with Help with takes the task or the object that needs work.
She comes ___ Canada.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. from Come from names the origin, so the preposition is from.
I could not think ___ the right word.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. of Think of means find or remember an idea or a word.
We need someone we can rely ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. on Rely is a fixed verb and preposition pair with on.
The team consists ___ five players.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. of Consist of is the fixed pair for the parts of a whole.
She is interested ___ learning Japanese.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. in Interested in takes the topic, and a following verb takes -ing.
Please write ___ me as soon as you arrive.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. to Write to takes the person who receives the message.
The film reminds me ___ my childhood.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. of Remind of is the fixed verb and preposition pair.
He apologised ___ being late.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. for Apologise for takes the action that caused the apology.
We are looking forward ___ the weekend.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. to Look forward to is the fixed three-part phrase, and to takes a noun.
I will pay ___ the tickets.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. for Pay for takes the thing that is bought.
Drill complete
You answered every question.
Next topic: Have something done: the causative explainedTake the level test
Questions learners ask
How do I know which preposition goes with a verb?
There is no reliable rule, so the preposition comes with the verb as a package. When you meet a new verb, write it down with one full example, such as "depend on the weather". Reading and listening build the same memory: the pair starts to sound wrong when the preposition changes.
Is it "agree with" or "agree to"?
Both are correct, with different objects. Agree with takes a person or an opinion: "I agree with you." Agree to takes a suggestion, a plan or a request: "She agreed to the changes." Agree on takes a shared decision: "We agreed on a price."
Why does discuss take no preposition?
Discuss is a transitive verb, so it takes the topic as a direct object: "We discussed the plan." The noun discussion is different: it takes about, as in "a discussion about the plan". When in doubt, check whether the word is the verb or the noun.
More grammar topics
Have something done: the causative explained
Have something done puts the focus on the service and the result, not on who did the work: "I had my hair cut" means a professional cut it.
Mustn't vs don't have to: ban or choice
Mustn't means you cannot do it. Don't have to means you can, but nobody requires it. The two negatives sit almost opposite each other.
Should vs ought to: advice and expectation
Should and ought to mean almost the same thing. Both give advice and state expectations; should is more common and takes questions and negatives without help.
Take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.