PREPOSITIONS

GERUND AFTER PREPOSITIONS

* Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts."



Than 

*  There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
* If there's anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it's being taken too seriously. Billy Wilder.
* As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mother.
* The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.
* Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light
* Nothing is better than going home to family and eating good food and relaxing.
* It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.

It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_109673

It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_washington_109673

Rather than

* I'd rather annoy with the truth than please with adulation (Seneca) * I would rather offend with the truth, than please with adulation. (M. Ghandi)

* Imagination is more important than knowledge.
* In wanting to do too much, one also runs the risk of defending the indefensible. * In wanting to be exhaustive, the report runs the certain risk of being imperfect.
* If we fasten our attention on what we have, rather than what we lack, a very little wealth is sufficient.

Students should simply know that this two-word expression can be followed by a noun or pronoun. In addition /Also, it can be followed by a gerund if “instead of” (adv + prep) can serve as a substitute, or it can be followed by a base verb if “and not” can serve as a substitution.

PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are words which begin prepositional phrases.

A prepositional phrase is a group of words containing a preposition, a noun or pronoun object of the preposition, and any modifiers of the object.

A preposition sits in front of (is “pre-positioned” before) its object.

The following words are the most commonly used prepositions:

about	below	excepting	off	toward
above	beneath	for	on	under
across	beside(s)	from	onto	underneath
after	between	in	out	until
against	beyond	in front of	outside	up
along	but	inside	over	upon
among	by	in spite of	past	up to
around	concerning	instead of	regarding	with
at	despite	into	since	within
because of	down	like	through	without
before	during	near	throughout	with regard to
behind	except	of	to	with respect to

                                     

 

1. Gerund after prepositions that stand alone

• after

  After having a shower, I waited for Steven.

• before

  The tablet must not be taken before getting up in the morning.

• by

  I manage it by working much longer than 40-hour weeks.

       * Despite
          Despite having been told a hundred times I still can't grasp it. tr understand, with effort.    Despite all my work, I still failed the exam. *  I arrived on time despite the train strike.

• in spite of

• In spite of studying a lot he didn't pass the exams.

• Instead of
   
•  Now I can walk to work instead of going by car.

• on (at the time of, when)

   They started to get lost on entering the city 

   What was her reaction on hearing the news? 

  On arriving to the room it was fine, had everything I needed and was clean.

• without

  He told the joke without laughing. * So let me say that self-confidence is what we should have, but without being cocky. (snobbish, conceited, pretentious, big-headed, stuck-up)

• upon (formal, time: immediately) (do [sth] in response)

          He stopped upon seeing a skunk.
          Upon hearing the news, she started praying.

2. Gerund after Adjective + Preposition

• afraid of

  They are afraid of losing the match.

• angry about/at

  Pat is angry about walking in the rain.

• bad at/good at

  John is good at working in the garden.

• clever at

  He is clever at skateboarding.

• crazy about

  The girl is crazy about playing tennis.

• disappointed about/at

  He is disappointed about seeing such a bad report.

• excited about

  We are excited about making our own film.

• famous for

  Sandy is famous for singing songs.

• fed up with

  I'm fed up with being treated as a child.

• fond of

  Hannah is fond of going to parties.

• glad about

  She is glad about getting married again.

• happy about/at

  The children are not happy about seeing a doctor.

• interested in

  Are you interested in writing poems?

• keen on

  Joe is keen on drawing.

• proud of

  She is proud of riding a snowboard.

• sick of

  We're sick of sitting around like this.

• sorry about/for

  He's sorry for eating in the lesson.

• tired of

  I'm tired of waiting for you.

• used to

  She is used to smoking.

• worried about

  I'm worried about making mistakes.

3. Gerund after Noun + Preposition

• advantage of

  What is the advantage of farming over hunting?

• chance of

  There's a chance of catching a cold these days.

• choice between

  There's a choice between flying to London Heathrow or Stansted.

• danger of

  Peggy is in danger of making a mistake.

• difficulty in

  He has difficulty in texting.

• doubt about

  He is in doubt about buying the correct software for his computer system.

• hope of

  There's little hope of catching the new Corvette.

• idea of

  I like the idea of setting up a new email account.

• interest in

  There's no interest in writing letters.

• method of

  This is a simple method of finding solutions.

• opportunity of

  There's some opportunity of bringing her parents together again.

• possibility of

  These wheels offer the possibility of riding tubeless.

• problem of

  He has the problem of swimming too slow.

• reason for

  There's a real reason for winning the contest.

• risk of

  There's a risk of digging too deep.

• trouble for

  He was in trouble for stealing.

• way of

  This is a new way of building a wall.

4. Gerund after Verb + Preposition

• I am thinking of writing a novel. (NOT I am thinking to write a novel. )

• I despair of reforming that fellow.(to give up all hope of something. To view a situation as hopeless.)

• The students abstained from attending classes.

•  We must refrain from dealing with such people.

• accuse of

  They were accused of breaking into a shop.

• agree with

  I agree with playing darts.

• apologize for

  They apologize for being late.

• believe in

  She doesn't believe in getting lost in the wood.

• blame for

  The reporter is blamed for writing bad stories.

• complain about

  She complains about bullying.

• concentrate on

  Do you concentrate on reading or writing?

• congratulate sb. on

  I wanted to congratulate you on making such a good speech.

• cope with

  He is not sure how to cope with getting older.

• decide against

  They decided against stealing the car.

• depend on

  Success may depend on becoming more patient.

• dream about/of

  Sue dreams of being a pop star.

• feel like

  They feel like going to bed.

• get used to

  You must get used to working long hours.

• insist on

  The girls insisted on going out with Mark.

• look forward to

  I'm looking forward to seeing you soon.

• prevent sb. from sth.

  How can I prevent Kate from working in this shop?

• rely on sth.

  He doesn't rely on winning in the casino.

• succeed in

  How then can I succeed in studying chemistry?

• specialize in

  The firm specialized in designing websites.

• stop sb. from

  I stopped Andrew from smoking.

• talk about/of

  They often talk about travel(l)ing to New Zealand.

• think of

  Frank thinks of playing chess.

• warn sb. against

  We warned them against using this computer.

• worry about

  The patient worries about having the check-up.

Thanks to Josef and Ulrike.