Dependent Prepositions
Level B1 · Prepositions
Many verbs and adjectives are always followed by one specific preposition, called a dependent preposition. The pairing has to be learned together with the word — there's rarely a logical reason why it's interested in and afraid of rather than the reverse.
Common adjective + preposition pairs:
- in: interested in
- at: good at, bad at
- of: afraid of, proud of, tired of, scared of
- for: famous for
- to: similar to, married to
- from: different from
- about: worried about
Common verb + preposition pairs:
- to: listen to, belong to
- for: look for, wait for, apologize for
- at: look at
- on: depend on, rely on
- in: believe in
- with: agree with
These pairings are arbitrary and rarely match your own language word for word, so the safest approach is to learn each verb or adjective with its preposition as a single chunk, not translate them separately. Classic mistakes: depend on, not depend of; married to, not married with; listen to, not just listen; good at, not good in.
There's no reliable marker word for dependent prepositions — the only signal is the verb or adjective itself. Learn them in full example sentences rather than as isolated words, and keep a running list of the ones your own language tempts you to get wrong.