COLLOCATIONS AND PREPOSITIONS

Abhorrence to
Hypocrisy is abhorrent to one.

Abide with
One abides with his wife.

Absolve by, from
One is absolved by the judge. One is absolved from all penalties.

Accede to
One accedes to a request.

Accommodate to, with
One accommodates to circumstances. One accommodates a friend with a loan.

Accompany by, with
One is accompanied by companions. One accompanies a speech with slides.

Accord with
One is in accord with the new office regulations.

According to
Everything is going according to my plan.

Account to, for
One has to account to the principal. You must account for your actions.

Accountable to, for
One is accountable to the boss for one’s work. You are accountable for the entire loss.

Accuse of
One may accuse another of wrongful actions.

Acquiesce in, to
One acquiesces in a decision. She acquiesced to the demands.

Acquitted of
One is acquitted of a misdemeanor.

Adapted to, for, from
One adapts oneself to a situation. One is not adapted for heavy lifting. A movie is adapted from a best-selling book.

Admit of, to
Some words admit of two meanings. He admits to the accusation of improper behavior.

Advantage in, of, over, to, with
There is an advantage in early tax filing. You have the advantage of me. You have an advantage over me. There is an advantage to keeping your promises. The advantage lay with the movie director.

Advise of, about
She advised me of the new regulations. Advise me about the issue before deciding.

Agree in, with, on, to
We agree in principle. You must agree with me that the letter must be rewritten. I agree on that point. Agree to honor the contract.

Agreeable to, with
Oysters may not be agreeable to your stomach. Your plan is agreeable with our future plans.

Analogous to
This situation is analogous to mine.

Angry at, with
She is angry at her boss. She is also angry with my friendly attitude toward him.

Answer to
He must answer to his parents.

Appeal to, against
He appealed to his parents’ sense of fair play, but he also appealed against their unjust criticism.

Apply to, for
Apply to the office for a day off. Apply for social security.

Answer to, for
Nevertheless, she must answer to her parents. You must answer for your shortcomings.

Apropos of
Apropos of your statement, let me say I agree.

Argue about, against, for, with
Let’s not argue about it any more. I shall not argue against you. Let’s argue for a better way of doing things. I do not like to argue with you.

Averse to
He is averse to his move to the city.

Behalf in, on, of
One uses one’s influence in behalf of another person and acts on behalf of that person. One might also influence a panel in another person’s behalf or act on that person’s behalf.

Capable of
One is capable of running a marathon.

Care about, for
One does not care about unimportant things. One cares for the good opinion of others.

Careless about, of
One should not be careless about or of details.

Cause for
Adam’s words were cause for violence.

Center upon
Center your attention upon the important facts.

Characteristic of
Those remarks are characteristic of my mother.

Compatible with
One should be compatible with one’s fellow workers.

Compliance with
One attempts compliance with requests.

Concur in, with
I concurred in the demand. That doesn’t concur with my understanding.

Connect by, with
They are connected by marriage. Their good manners are connected with their upbringing.

Consideration for, of
It’s nice to have consideration for others. In consideration of the circumstances, he was overly polite.

Consist in, of
The decision consists in weighing the facts. The book consists of sixteen chapters.

Contend against, for, with
I contended against the passage of the bill. I contended for a more equitable policy. I contended with his ugly disposition.

Contrast to, with
One thing is contrasted to or with another thing.

Convenient to, for
The bus stop is convention to my work, which makes commuting convenient for me.

Conversant with
He is conversant with the material.

Correspond to, with
This does not correspond to or with the facts.

Defer to
I always defer to the officer in charge.

Depend on, upon
That depends on or upon his testimony.

Desirous of
He is desirous of a promotion at his firm.

Die from, of
He died from or of kidney failure.

Differ from, with
Twins may differ from each other in appearance, but they may also differ with each other about the best course of action.

Different from
He is different in person from his pictures.

Dispense with
Let’s dispense with the formalities.

Dispute with, about, over
I will not dispute with you about or over the facts in the case.

Dissent from
I dissent from the argument you proposed.

Distinguish between, among, from
One distinguishes between two things and among several, but one distinguishes a camel from a chicken.

Divide between, among
One divides anything between two and among three or more.

Enamored of
He is enamored of his fiancée.

Enter into
A person enters into an agreement.

Entrust to, with
One entrusts one’s finances to a business manager. One entrusts one’s business manager with one’s money.

Free from, of
It’s nice to be freed from responsibilities and to be free of them.

Furnish with
One furnishes another with a recommendation.

Give to, for
One gives a donation to the church for its upkeep.

Grieve at, for, over, with
It’s normal to grieve at or for or over the death of a pet. You can grieve with someone.

Guard against, from
One guards against or from unnecessary risks.

Happen on, upon, to
Sometimes, one happens on or upon good buys by chance. Good luck can happen to anyone.

Identical to, with
Twins may be identical to or with one another.

Incorrect in
He was incorrect in his answer.

Independent of
He’s lucky to be independent of any kind of financial pressure.

Infer from
One infers from another person’s implication.

Initiated into
One is initiated into a new club.

Inseparable from
They are inseparable from each other.

Instill into, in
He has had discipline instilled into him by his father. I shall instill in you certain virtues.

Intercede for, with
He intercedes for his parents with the tax assessor.

Interest in
He has a great interest in art.

Join with, in, to
Join with the others in the fun. Join this plug to the outlet.

Jump at, to
One jumps at a generous offer. One jumps to conclusions.

Liable for, to
Life makes us all liable for our actions. Indiscretions are liable to catch up with us.

Live in, at, on
One may live in or at a house of his or her own. One may also live on the coast.

Meddle in, with
She likes to meddle in or with other peoples’ affairs.

Necessity for, of
There is no necessity for you to attend. There is no necessity of your attending.

Need for, of
There is no need for you to go. There is no need of your going.

Object to
He objects to the change in plans.

Oblivious of
He is oblivious of his shortcomings.

Overcome by, with
He was overcome by the play. She was overcome with emotion.

Parallel to, with
Lines may be parallel to or with one another.

Part from, with
One does not like to part from or with one’s former companions. One does not like to part with one’s money.

Ponder on, upon, over
He ponders on or upon or over his future course of action.

Preferable to
Employment is preferable to unemployment.

Prejudiced against
One is prejudiced against a matter.

Preside at, over
The chairman presides at or over the meeting.

Prevail against, on, upon, with, over
It’s sometimes difficult to prevail against hard times. But one can prevail on or upon or with one’s boss for a raise. One can certainly prevail over a situation.

Provide against, for, with
One must provide against the future for one’s senior years to be sure one is provided with the necessities. Your pension will provide for your needs.

Quarrel over, with
One should not quarrel over small things. One should not quarrel with one’s siblings.

Reason with, about
One reason with one’s spouse about a matter.

Reckon with
One must reckon with inflation.

Reconcile to, with
One must reconcile oneself to or with many changes in life.

Rejoice with, at, in
It’s nice to rejoice with a friend at or in his or her good luck.

Result from, in
The argument resulted from a lie the boy told and eventually resulted in a fight.

Retire from, into
One retires from office. A turtle retires its head into its shell.

Seek after, for, out
Gold miners seek after wealth. Ponce de León was seeking for the Fountain of Youth. One can seek out justice.

Strive against, with, for
One strives against or with difficulties for a positive outcome.

Supply to, withOne can supply goods to the army. One can also supply the army with goods.

Trade in, on, with
She trades in stocks and bonds. She trades on the stock exchange. She trades only with reliable brokers.

Variance with
His bank records are at variance with his accountants.

Vary from, in, with
His opinions vary from the norm. Opinions may vary in intensity. The flavor of wine varies with age.

Vexed at, by
One is vexed at one’s girlfriend or boyfriend. One is vexed by her or his attitude.

Vie for, with
He vied for her affections. He vies with his opponents.

Wait by, for, on
One waits by the telephone. One waits for the bus. A waiter or waitress waits on a table or a customer.

Yield to
Don’t yield to temptation.

Source:
Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas
The Grammar Bible
2004