Gina from Peru writes: I want to know as many examples of nouns and prepositions as possible: approval of, awareness

of, belief in, fondness for, grasp of, hatred of, etc. Also how does this affect the construction of the sentence? Some nouns, particularly abstract nouns, have to be followed by a prepositional phrase in order to demonstrate what they relate to. They cannot just stand by themselves. There is usually only one possibility of preposition which must be used after a particular noun. Occasionally alternatives are possible. But in either event it is a matter of learning which prepositions can be used with which nouns.

Here are some of the most common noun plus preposition combinations, but there is space here only for a few of them. If you are in doubt as to which preposition to use, always check with a good dictionary. Nouns followed by 'to'
access to contribution to relevance to addiction to damage to resistance to allusion to devotion to solution to answer/reply/ response to reference to threat to

The court ordered that access to his children would be restricted to alternate Sundays. It was his contribution to molecular biology that won him the Nobel prize. Addiction to alcohol is perhaps as serious as addiction to drugs in this country. The damage caused to his house was colossal after the hurricane. Her devotion to her husband was unqualified. There is no solution to this problem. His answer/response/reply to his neighbour's accusation of damage to the fence that divided them was to seek the advice of a solicitor. Although there are thousands of squirrels in the wood, they are no threat to the environment.

Note that the verbs and adjectives that these nouns are related to are often followed by the same preposition:

He contributed to the occasion by accompanying the flautist on the piano. He alluded to all the novels of James Joyce in his talk on contemporary Irish fiction. He is no longer addicted to alcohol and is devoted to his friend who weaned him off it.

Nouns followed by 'for'

admiration for respect for bid for responsibility cure for room for demand for search for recipe for thirst for

for

I have nothing but admiration for the way he handled a very difficult situation. There is no known cure for this type of snake bite. The demand for this new generation of mobile phone cannot be satisfied. I have a wonderful recipe for a simple pasta dish that I must give you. She is a thoroughly spoilt child and has no respect for her parents. The search for the missing teenager was called off as darkness fell. The children in this deprived area show a real thirst for learning.

It is sometimes the case that nouns with a similar meaning are followed by the same preposition. Thus appetite, craving, hankering, hunger, desire, longing, passion are all synonyms of thirst and they are all followed by the preposition for: I had a craving/longing/appetite/hunger/hankering for oysters when I was pregnant.
Nouns followed by 'with' connection with involvement with date with link with dealings with quarrel with meeting with sympathy with

I've got a dinner date with Tommy on Saturday. ~ That's nice. How romantic! I've got a meeting with the architects this afternoon, so I shall be home late. His dealings with Grenville Engineering were suspended and all links / connections with the organisation were severed. I have no quarrel with his teachers. I think they did all they could to deter him. I have every sympathy with his family. They must be so upset that he is now in prison.

Note that all of these nouns imply some sort of relationship with people or things and they all have the linking preposition with. Other nouns - other prepositions ban on awareness of grudge against anger at grasp of control over bond between excerpt from authority over hold on

There is going to be a complete ban on fishing in the North Atlantic. The fishing stocks are so depleted. They bore a grudge against their neighbours and hadn't spoken to them for two years. His anger at the way the refugees were being treated was clear to see. The bond between mother and child is one that can never be broken. There was an excerpt from Verdi's Aida on the Radio Three last night.

His grasp / understanding / awareness of mathematics left a lot to be desired. She no control over her emotions. She has some sort of authority over him and he has a hold on her. They are well-matched.

Note that although related adjectives and verbs are often followed by the same preposition (awareness of / aware of - reference to / refer to), this is not always the case: I have no intention of resigning. I do not intend to resign

Certain nouns - choice of preposition agreement about / on difficulty with / in reason for / to debate about / on love of / for need of / for decision about / on transition from / to

arguments for / against case for / against

There was no agreement about / on the shorter working week and the decision on / about employee benefits was deferred until the next meeting. I'm having difficulty with the steering. It just won't go where I want it to go. I'm having difficulty in steering this trolley. It just won't go where I want it to go. His love of / for tennis is such that he queued all night for a ticket for the tournament. The transition from a controlled to a market economy was not easily achieved. No reason was given for the changes to the schedule. You have no reason to change the schedule like that. Although the case against him was strong, his lawyer put up a good case for leniency

What or that? and noun-verb collocations

Maria Grazia Rinieri from Italy writes: I have two questions. Firstly, is it a mistake to say all what I have done instead of all that I have done? Secondly, I would like to know if it's possible to write: students gave their feedback on the arguments treated by the teacher, or must I use subject or topic instead of arguments and the verb dealt with instead of treated? What or that?

Yes, it is a mistake to say: All what I have done. What cannot be used as a relative pronoun coming after a noun or pronoun. We have to use the relative pronoun that and say: All that I have done. Or, if that is the object of the relative clause as in this example, we can simply omit it, use zero pronoun instead and say: All I've done All (that) I've done is to offer to help him with his homework. I haven't done his homework for him.

Here are some more examples. Note that that cannot be omitted if it is the subject of the relative clause as in the last example below: Everything (that) you ordered is now in the shop and can be collected. The paintings (that) I bought are now hanging on the walls in my house. The only thing that keeps me awake at night is wondering if the house is properly insured.

What can, however, be used to introduce a clause where it combines the function of noun and relative pronoun and means that which or the thing(s) that: What I did was help him with his homework, not do it for him. What he does in his free time doesn't interest me. I don't remember what time he went to bed last night. (what = the time at which) I have no idea about what happened after I left.

Noun-verb collocations In your example, Maria, of students gave their feedback on certain arguments, the verb which best collocates with arguments here is raised, so the sentence would read: The students gave their feedback on the arguments raised by their teacher.

Collocation (or co-location if you like) refers to the way in which some words regularly occur together. We do not usually treat arguments. We normally would not say that. Instead, we raise arguments or discuss arguments. However, if we are talking about wounds or injuries, these are the things we treat. We might also treat a topic or subject if we are writing an essay as an alternative to dealing with it. His injuries were serious and could only properly be treated in hospital. How do you propose to treat this topic when you are writing about Napoleon?

In language learning, it's very important to develop an understanding of words that regularly occur together. Test your knowledge of these noun-verb collocations in the

text below. One of the alternatives listed is the best fit or the normal collocation. Choose that one. The female crocodile usually assembles/builds/manufactures/erects her nest on the banks of a river. She normally lays/releases/drops/spawns about fifty eggs. She then closes/shuts down/seals/binds the nest for protection against predators. Provided the nests are not molested/assaulted/bothered/disturbed , the baby crocodiles proceed/hatch/appear/arise from the eggs after about twelve weeks.

Now scroll down the page to check your selections Crocodiles, birds and insects all build their nests. They lay their eggs. And crocodiles seal their nests for protection against predators. If they are unlucky, their nests might be disturbed by predators. But if they are lucky, the baby crocodiles will hatch from the eggs after twelve week Noun + to-infinitive clause Teresa Lee from Taiwan writes: Would you please give me some more examples of the formulation noun + toinfinitive, such as permission to enter in the sentence: We were refused permission to enter the building? Is there any rule governing noun + toinfinitive? Many thanks. There is no rule as such. All we can say is that the to-infinitive clause is used after certain abstract nouns to show what action they relate to. So we can say:

She has the ability to achieve good grades at university. I had an urge to put salt into his tea when he wasn't looking.

But to-infinitive clauses do not always follow abstract nouns. If we think of synonyms of ability, such as skill or aptitude, then the structures which these nouns elicit are: aptitude for + noun / verb-ing and skill in verb-ing. Compare the following:

He shows an aptitude for (working with) figures and is destined to become an accountant. She demonstrated no little skill in bringing the boat into the harbour in such a rough sea.

It is a matter of learning which prepositional structures are required after which nouns.
Here are some more common abstract nouns which are often followed by a toinfinitive clause:

chance / opportunity failure

desire / inclination refusal

need promise

reason readiness way

You will have a chance / an opportunity to try out all sorts of water sports on this adventure holiday. I had no desire / inclination to attempt white-water rafting. I found it far too scary. There is no need / reason to stay in bed. You are not ill. His failure to gain a certificate was ascribed to pure laziness. They fulfilled their promise to buy their daughter a pony. Her readiness to sample everything that was put in front of her on the dining table resulted in her becoming a very good cook. His refusal to listen to my advice resulted in a drink-driving conviction. There was no way to stop him getting behind the steering wheel when under the influence of alcohol.

NB: way can be followed by of + verb-ing as well as to + infinitive:

There was no way of stopping him from getting behind the steering wheel when under the influence of alcohol.

Note also that many of these nouns have related adjectives or verbs which are followed by to-inifinitive clauses:

He was permitted to smoke just one cigar after supper. She felt unable to speak to her father after the divorce. He had re-married and desired to have a child with his new wife. Nobody felt inclined to argue with the gunman. You don't need to be a millionaire to be happy. Everybody else was laughing but I failed to appreciate the joke. He is such a bad driver that I refused to get into his car. I promised to lend him my golf clubs in time for the competition I am always ready to eat blueberry pie with whipped cream

Than, then and that Yolanda, studying English in the UK, writes: I would like to know the difference between that and than because I have problems in using them correctly

That and than are often confused. In some languages, in Spanish and Portuguese for instance, the same word que is used for both terms. That is a very common word with various uses. Than is also often confused with then.

than Than is used after comparative adjectives, adverbs and actions to describe people or things that are unequal in some way. Compare the following:

This one is bigger than that one. He's much older than her, but she seems much more grown-up than he is. I work harder than you do - it's only right that I should earn more than you. Have you noticed that the older brother dresses more smartly than the younger one? I predict that Giggs will score more goals than Scholes this season.

Note that we have to use the asas structure to describe things that are equal in some way:

Policemen earn as much as teachers in this country. Do you think that's right? My feet were as cold as ice after tramping through the snow all afternoon.

then Take care not to use then as an alternative to than in comparative sentences. Then is an adverb which refers to a particular time in the past or future or is used to express the idea of one thing that follows on logically from another. Compare the following:

In the 1980s I was young and carefree. I didn't worry about money then. You'll stay with his family until Christmas. Until then you won't need extra money. I'll see you on Tuesday - we can decide then whether we want to go out for a meal as well as a drink. We went to the art exhibition first, then we had some lunch. Fry the onion and the bacon together in some olive oil and butter. Then add some wine. The last train has gone! ~ Then we're going to have to stay the night at Jo's.

that as conjunction or relative pronoun Most frequently, that-clauses are used with reporting verbs in indirect speech and thought:

I've been told that we shall not be allowed to enter the auditorium after the performance has started.

I understand that you want to take unpaid leave when your maternity leave ends. Is that right?

However, the conjunction that is often omitted after common reporting verbs in informal speech:

I think you're right. I think it will be over by nine o' clock. She says she's bored at school. She says she's going to leave at the first opportunity.

That as a relative pronoun introduces a defining relative clause

Have you got any books in the library that are easy to read? ~ The books that are easy to read are on the first floor.

Note that we cannot omit that if it is the subject of the relative clause as in the example above. However, if it is the object of the relative clause, it is usually omitted:

The books (that) I borrowed are in my rucksack. The library (that) I borrowed them from is in the city centre

Pronouns: they with singular reference Sicello Simelane from Swaziland writes: What is the right pronoun to use for someone whose gender is not known: can I use he? Debo Omikunle from Nigeria writes: Please could you tell me the correct form of pronoun (singular or plural) to use with the word every and all its variants and compound forms (everybody, anybody, everyone) and also the verb forms too. I have seen examples like this: Everyone should get their coats Everybody thinks their calls Everyone has their own styles

He - she - (s)he - or they? In the past, Sicello, we used to use he when the sex of the person was unknown:

A doctor should always be accompanied by a nurse when he is examining a patient.

If I find the person who has wrought such havoc in my garden, I'll wring his neck!

However, such usage is now sometimes considered sexist, so alternative forms are used. One possibility is to use he or she or (s)he, but this looks and sounds clumsy:

If the patient decides to cancel the appointment, he or she must let the receptionist know ASAP. If the patient decides to cancel the appointment, (s)he must let the receptionist know ASAP.

These forms are sometimes retained in formal written English, but the preferred solution generally, and especially in informal discourse, is to use they, even if the reference is singular:

If the patient decides to cancel the appointment, they must let the receptionist know as soon as possible. If anybody calls, make a note of their details and ask them to take a seat. Everybody should take their belongings with them. Don't leave them on the bus.

They / them / their with singular reference These structures are common, Debo, after all indefinite pronouns such as anybody/one, somebody/one, nobody/one, everyone, anyone, every, each and no and after person. Consider the following:

No child may leave the hall until they have finished their work. If anyone finds my cat in their garden, I'd be grateful if they could give me a ring and I'll come and collect her. Somebody has left their coat on the bus. Could they please come and collect it? Nobody plans to stay in London overnight, do they? Everybody but me thinks they will pass the test, but I am not so confident. Every person going on this trip must have their own tent. Sharing tents is not allowed.

This structure is useful not only when the sex of the person is unknown, but also when the sexes are mixed. Of course, if the company is single sex, it may not be necessary. If the people on the bus in the above example are all male, then we could just as easily say:

Somebody has left his coat on the bus. Could he please come and collect it?

However, even when the sex is known, we often use they/them/their, especially in generalised statements.

No girl over the age of 16 should be made to wear a school uniform. It makes them feel childish.

Noun suffixes

Yee from Hong Kong writes: I'm not sure how the suffix -ness works. Can we add -ness to all types of words to make nouns? Thanks for your answer. -ness (nouns from adjectives)

-ness is one of a number of noun suffixes. It is used to make nouns from adjectives, although not every adjective can be modified in this way. Here are some common adjectives whose noun forms are made by adding -ness:
happy sad weak good ready tidy forgetful

Note the spelling change to adjectives that end in -y:

Everybody deserves happiness in their life. To be happy is a basic human right. There was a lot of sadness in the office when people learned of his illness. His readiness to have a personal word with everybody at the funeral was much appreciated. He is such a forgetful person. Such forgetfulness cannot be excused. If you want to work for such an organisation, you are expected to maintain a high standard of tidiness in your appearance.

ity (nouns from adjectives)

-ity is another noun suffix that is formed from adjectives. Here are some adjectives whose noun forms are made in this way:
possible probable responsible complex hilarious scarce

Note the spelling changes that occur in these conversions:

Everything was possible, but the probability, or even possibility, of Jason returning home unharmed was remote. I was given a great deal of responsibility in my new job.

It was a complex operation but such complexities are common in cardiac surgery. Her behaviour was hilarious but hilarity is not easily tolerated in a convent school. The scarcity of water was serious, but all natural resources were scarce.

-tion / -sion (nouns from verbs) -tion, or, less frequently -sion (both pronounced with a 'sh' sound on the initial letter) are noun suffixes that are used to make nouns from verbs. Here are some common verbs whose noun forms are made by adding -tion:
admit alter inform decide describe multiply

Note that adjustments that are necessary to the spelling in each case:

He admitted he had lied and this admission landed him in court. The dress will have to be altered and I'm going to have the alteration done professionally. I informed the police that I had seen one of the robbers in Margate and this information led to the arrest of the gang. I decided to give myself up. The decision was easy. My description was in all the newspapers. And I had been on the run for three weeks. Multiplication is the easiest part of arithmetic - much easier than addition, subtraction or division.

ment (nouns from verbs and adjectives) -ment is another suffix that is used to make nouns from verbs and occasionally from adjectives:
enjoy replace appoint arrange merry

Enjoyment is the most important thing in life and you simply don't know how to enjoy yourself. You will need to replace the broken part and unfortunately replacements cost 350. I don't know if I shall be appointed to the job but I have an appointment to see the manager this morning. I had arranged to be there early so that all the arrangements would be in place by the time Yuan arrived. Everyone was quite merry by now. Such merriment had not been seen in my mother's house for a long time.

-ance / -ence (nouns from adjectives and verbs) -ance and -ence are suffixes that are used to make nouns from adjectives and sometimes from verbs:
absent silent independent important admit appear exist

Her absence was not noticed during the silence of prayer. The importance of independence for teenagers should not be underestimated. Admittance to the theatre is not permitted once the show has started. His appearance did not permit him to be admitted. His existence as a writer was threatened when people stopped buying his books.

more restrictive noun suffixes (nouns from nouns) -ship (abstract nouns denoting different kinds of relationships)
relationship friendship partnership membership

His friendship with Carole slowly turned into a relationship. I'm going to go into partnership with SIP and that will automatically give me membership of the golf club.

-hood (abstract nouns denoting different kinds of 'families')

childhood motherhood neighbourhood priesthood

Childhood and motherhood/fatherhood are two very important stages in our lives. The neighbourhood was extremely quiet and the priesthood was attractive to many in this peaceful environment

Fewer or less; a little or a few?

Daymir Garcia from Cuba writes: First of all I want to congratulate you on your wonderful section, which has helped me a lot to improve my English. Going straight to the point, what I need is some explanation about when to use fewer and when to use less. Could you also please explain to me when to use a little and little and when to use a few and few?

Less is used with uncountable nouns, like money or work or travel, and fewer is used with countable plural nouns, like coins or jobs or trips. Less is the comparative form of little and fewer is the comparative form of few. Compare the following: I have less work now than I had this time last year. There are simply fewer jobs around that I am suitable for. I therefore have little money and few friends. Another, more common, way of saying less is not as much and another, more common, way of saying fewer is not as many. Similarly little would translate as not much and few would translate as not many. Compare the following. My new car doesn't use as much petrol as my old one so it's more economical. My new car uses less petrol than my old one so it's more economical. You don't see as many Peugeot 405s on the road now as you used to. You see fewer Peugeot 405s on the road now than you used to. I don't have much need to use my car in town when public transport is so good. I have to admit that there are few occasions when I walk anywhere nowadays.

Note that all of these uses have negative implications. If we want to be positive about something, we would use a little or a little bit of or a few. Compare the following I can't go out in such weather, but I have a little bit of food in the house so I shall be OK. I can't go out in such weather and I have little food in the house so I'm quite worried. A few of my colleagues turned up for my presentation, so I was quite pleased. Few of my colleagues turned up for my presentation, so I was quite upset.

Many / much - a lot of Note that much and many are mostly used in negative clauses and in questions. They are not so common in affirmative clauses where we tend to use a lot of, lots of, plenty of or, very colloquially, loads of instead. Compare the following: In my stamp collection, I've got a lot of / lots of / plenty of Asian stamps, but I don't have very many African stamps. Do you have many African stamps in yours? There wasn't much traffic on the road in the snow, not very many cars and very few lorries, but, even so, there was a lot of bad driving. I've got loads of Simpsons videos, but not so many Simpsons comics.

Least / fewest - most

Note also that least is the superlative form of little / not much and fewest is the superlative form of few / not many. Most is the superlative form of much, many and a lot of. Compare the following: Jane always seems to do the least work in this office and Andy clearly does the most. I do quite a lot, but I have fewer duties than Andy. Geraldine tends to make the fewest mistakes in the work she does while Kevin makes the most.

the least - at least Note also expressions with the least ( = the minimum) and at least ( = as a minimum requirement as well as not less than): You've worked such long hours today - the least I can do is to drive you back home. She's completed at least fifty pages of her new novel this week I know you're not well enough to eat anything, but at (the very) least try to drink this.

Uncountable nouns Rossana Gurin from France writes: I must express my appreciation to the BBC for such a useful website for us foreigners (especially adults) who need a teacher to help us with our problems. Please kindly tell me if there is a plural form for the following words: information, administration, management, disease .

All of these nouns in English are uncountable, i.e. they refer to collections of things which we see as mass items and which cannot be counted separately. Although they have a plural meaning, most uncountable nouns like this (including information, administration, management, advice, accommodation) are singular with no plural form. However, even though they are singular, we cannot normally use the indefinite article (a/an) with uncountable nouns and instead must use some/any/no, indicating plurality. To make an uncountable noun countable, we often use the construction aof. Let's see how all of this applies to these nouns under discussion:

nformation This information is very useful. It will help me to find my way around France.But I don't yet have any information about Brittany and there is no information about the offshore islands.

advice Let me give you some advice / a piece of advice. Always use the motorways in France. They are quite expensive but much less crowded than the main roads. accommodation You will find that two-star hotels provide perfectly good accommodation. It is inexpensive and most accommodation of this kind is located away from busy roads. management and administration In this hotel chain, too much time is spent on administration and not enough on management. If we don't get more women into top management, a change of management will be necessary. These are the normal uses of these terms. But note that when we refer to the administration as the government of a country - usually the US - plural forms are possible. This usage provides us with an exception to the general rule: The administrations of Carter and Clinton were similar in many ways.

Some nouns have both uncountable and countable uses relating to more general and more particular instances of use. Disease is a good example of this, Rosanna as are, e.g., time and experience. When used countably, plural forms may arise. Compare the following: time - a time / times It's time now to finish the game and come in for supper. There's no time to lose. We must try to get home before dark. There was a time when I went to church every Sunday. Now there are times when I don't set foot inside a church for months on end.

experience - an experience You need quite a lot of work experience to do this job properly and I don't have very much. Walking across hot coals is an experience I shall never forget.

disease - a disease / diseases The rapid spread of disease in this area was ascribed to poor sanitation. Tuberculosis and scarlet fever were both common in the Nineteenth Century, but these diseases have largely died out now. vCJD, a progressive fatal disease of the central nervous system, also known as mad-cow disease, has now claimed its 100th victim in Britain.

Note that the names of common illnesses are usually uncountable in English, though there are a few exceptions such as a cold, a sore throat, a headache. Compare the following: Measles, and chicken pox are common ailments in childhood. Old people especially are susceptible to flu in winter. Generally, earache and toothache are more painful than stomach-ache or backache. The common cold is characterised by a sore throat, a runny nose, headaches and a bad cough.

The definite article: context-specific and with abstract nouns

Michael Loukanov from Bulgaria, writing to the BBC ELT message board, comments: Sometimes there are some difficult situations in which you cannot be sure whether the things you are referring to are specific or not. Sometimes they are specific not because the speaker has expressly mentioned them, but because the context renders them as such. When do we use definite articles here? And what about abstract uncountable nouns? We are taught that when qualified they can take a definite (or indefinite article) but when should we consider them qualilfied?

Context-specific nouns: the It is clear that when we first refer to a particular person or thing we normally use the indefinite article, a, and then, once it has been identified, we continue with the definite article, the. Compare the following:

I saw a fox cub at the bottom of the garden yesterday. The fox cub, which was still only a baby, was lying in the sunshine under the apple tree.

But what about the bottom of the garden, the sunshine and the apple tree? I haven't mentioned them before, yet immediately I use the definite article. I do so because I am referring to a known context. It is obvious to the person I am speaking to that I am referring to my own garden and apple tree. It is clear from the situation which ones I mean. The is used with sunshine because we are here talking about something that is unique, like the moon and the stars and the wind and the rain. Compare also the following:

I don't want to cook tonight. Do you fancy going out to a restaurant? Shall we pop out to the pub for a quick drink before the lecture starts?

The first thing we must do when we get to our holiday village is go to the supermarket.

Clearly, there are many possibilities of restaurant. It could be an Italian, an Indian, a Thai or a Chinese restaurant, so a or an is appropriate. But I have not specified the pub either. It could be one of many, yet I have used the. I have used the because I am thinking of a typical pub as a general feature of our environment. The same applies to supermarket in the next example. I have never been to this holiday village before, so have no knowledge of which supermarkets are available, yet I have used the because I am thinking of a typical supermarket. But in this example, if you are thinking of one of many, a supermarket would also be possible. Qualified abstract nouns: the or zero article? Note that when we are using abstract nouns that are not qualified or not fully qualified, zero article is normal usage:

Education in Britain begins when children are four and a half, normally. Formal education in Britain begins when children are four and a half, usually. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Honesty and truthfulness are always to be preferred to deceit and lying

As you point out, Michael, abstract nouns are fully qualified when they are followed by a defining relative clause (introduced by who/which/that) or by the preposition of + noun phrase. Under these circumstances, the before the abstract noun is normally required:

The education (that) I received at a bog-standard comprehensive school was substandard. The absolute truth of the matter is that abject poverty destroys lives. Personal happiness is a basic human right. The happiness (that) I felt when Maureen became pregnant was unqualified.

Note that happiness is considered to be one of a number of human rights, so an indefinite article is used with this abstract noun