| 1 |
Think of the meaning of the verb. The meaning of the phrase may be literal. I looked into the room to see who was there. It may be non-literal. The police are looking into the disappearance of a boy. In the second example, "look into" means "investigate". |
| 2 |
Usually the choice of preposition is obvious, but not always. Some verbs are followed by a preposition which you might not expect. For example, "depend on", where you might expect "from", or "look after" meaning "take care of". In most cases, the choice of preposition is logical. For example, if you want a job, your purpose in applying is to get the job. The preposition "for" often expresses purpose, so the verb phrase is to apply for (a job). |
| 3 |
Note that "to", in addition to being a marker of the infinitive, can also be a simple preposition. The way to check this is to see if you can put "it" after the "to". Compare. I am not used to getting up early. I am not used to it. I like to sunbath when I'm on holiday. "I like to it" is not possible, so "to" here is not a preposition, but a marker of the infinitive. |
| 4 |
The pattern "verb-prepostion" is very common in English. It is always followed by an object, e.g. "think about, believe in". Remember that the verb following a preposition must be in the -ing form. Example. Please refrain from making loud noises. |
| 5 |
Some verbs have two objects. For example, grumble to the grocer about the price of butter. Here the direct object is butter; the indirect object is the grocer. After some verbs, the indirect object does not require a preposition. Compare these two examples. I told the waiter about the fly in my youghurt. I complained to the waiter about the fly in my youghurt. |
| 6 |
The same verb can be followed by different prepositions depending on the meaning. "To correspond with" someone means "to write to" them, "to correspond to" - "to be equivalent to". The U.S. Congress corresponds to the British Parliament. Another example. When you call on somebody to do something, you give an invitation. However, when you call for something to be done, you make a demand. |
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