Level: B1-B2

Verb + Preposition Collocations — Practice

Practice the most common English verb + preposition pairs. Depend on, listen to, look for, wait for, worry about, agree with. There’s no logical rule — you just have to learn them as fixed phrases. 50+ click-to-hear examples.

📝 Prepositions unit · lesson 6 of 11 ⏱ about 12 minutes 🔊 every example has audio

Builds on Prepositions — the guide Next in unit Adjective Collocations →

Verb collocations — quick guide

Some verbs are nearly always paired with a specific preposition. These pairings are called collocations. There’s no logical rule — you simply learn them as units.

The most common verb + preposition pairs:

Verb + preposition	Example
depend on	It depends on the weather.
listen to	I like to listen to music.
look for	He is looking for his keys.
wait for	She is waiting for the bus.
worry about	Don’t worry about the test.
belong to	This book belongs to me.
apologize for	I apologize for being late.
agree with / on	I agree with you on this.
think about / of	She’s thinking about the problem.
talk about / to	We talked about the movie.

📖 Want the full explanation? See English Prepositions → Common preposition collocations on the main grammar page.

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Verb + ON
It depends on the weather. – depend on
You can rely on her. – rely on
She insisted on paying. – insist on
Do not spend so much money on clothes. – spend on
I agreed on the price. – agree on
He congratulated me on the promotion. – congratulate on
She focused on her studies. – focus on
Verb + TO
I like to listen to music. – listen to
This book belongs to me. – belong to
She talked to her sister. – talk to
He explained the problem to me. – explain to
I look forward to seeing you. – look forward to
She apologized to her boss. – apologize to
She prefers to walk home. – prefer to
Pay attention to the teacher. – pay attention to
Verb + FOR
He is looking for his keys. – look for
She is waiting for the bus. – wait for
I apologize for being late. – apologize for
Thank you for your help. – thank for
She paid for the meal. – pay for
I asked for water. – ask for
They are searching for their lost dog. – search for
The candidate is hoping for good news. – hope for
He cared for his elderly mother. – care for
I prepared for the exam. – prepare for
Verb + ABOUT
Do not worry about the test. – worry about
She is thinking about the problem. – think about
We talked about the movie. – talk about
He complained about the noise. – complain about
She knows about the situation. – know about
Tell me about your trip. – tell about
He dreams about winning the lottery. – dream about
Verb + WITH
I agree with you. – agree with
She argued with her brother. – argue with
He shared his lunch with me. – share with
She dealt with the difficult problem. – deal with
Do not interfere with her work. – interfere with
She is living with her parents. – live with
Verb + OF
She approves of the plan. – approve of
I am thinking of moving abroad. – think of
Please remind me of the meeting. – remind of
He is accused of stealing the money. – accuse of
This consists of two parts. – consist of
Verb + AT
She laughed at the joke. – laugh at
Do not shout at me! – shout at
He stared at the painting. – stare at
Look at this picture. – look at
She glanced at the clock. – glance at
Verb + IN
I believe in myself. – believe in
She succeeded in the project. – succeed in
He participated in the meeting. – participate in
She specialized in marine biology. – specialize in
Verb + FROM
I borrowed money from the bank. – borrow from
She suffers from headaches. – suffer from
Where do you come from? – come from
He recovered from his illness. – recover from

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