UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIN HUMANAS Y

TECNOLOGAS
CARRERA DE IDIOMAS
Sixth Semester
GRAMAR VI

TOPIC:
Nouns and prepositions

STUDENTS:

Diana Mendoza
Elvis Guaranga

TEACHER:

Msc. Magdalena Ullauri

Octubre 2015 Febrero 2016

NOUNS + PREPOSITION
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

addiction to

allusion to

contribution to
relevance to

damage to
resistance 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 neighbors 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
for

cure for
room for

demand for
search for

recipe for
thirst 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 organization 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

grudge against

anger at

bond between

awareness of

grasp of

control over

authority over

excerpt
from
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 neighbors 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 ahold on her. They are wellmatched.

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
arguments for / against

decision about / on
transition from / to
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
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.

to

the

schedule.

Many nouns have particular prepositions which normally follow them. Here are some
common examples:
Whats the reason for your unhappiness?
fo
Nobody seems to have responsibility for the
r
budget.
This is an example of international
cause, example, way of collaboration.
We need to find another way of doing things.
changes, differences, in Changes in society have meant that young
increase
people leave home earlier.
Theres been a steady increase in the value
need, reason,
responsibility

approach, reaction,
response

of the euro.
My reaction to it all was to try to forget it.
to Her response to the criticism was very
strong.

These are the most common uses of the prepositions in English, it means that we can use
specific nouns following those preposition to make sense in the sentence because there are
a lot of common mistakes when we use the different prepositions, for example:
Go to our website to get the address of your nearest
address
branch.
Not: the address to your nearest branch.
I saw an advertisement for a teaching job in Malawi
advertisement which looked interesting.
Not: an advertisement of a teaching job
There is a growing awareness of the impact of climate
change among the young.
awareness
Not: a growing awareness about the impact of
climate change
Changes in our diet have meant that more and more
people suffer heart disease. (changes that happen)
Not: Changes of our diet
The director of studies must be informed of any
change
changes to the timetable. (changes that people
purposely make)
Not: of any changes in the timetable. (This means
changes that happen, not those that people purposely
make.)
Congratulations on your new job!
congratulations
Not: Congratulations for your new job!
Id like to do a course in computer programming if I
course
could find a good one.
Not: a course of computer programming
We went to see an exhibition of Viking jewellery.
exhibition
Not: an exhibition about Viking jewellery.
Do you have any previous experience of working with
children?
(usually followed by the -ing form of a verb)
experience
Not: previous experience in working with children?
She has ten years experience in television and radio.
(usually followed by a noun)
Not: ten years experience on television and radio.
There has been an increase of 200,000 in the citys
increase
population in the last ten years.
(Of is used before numbers and quantities

decrease
growth
information
interest
invitation

knowledge

lesson
member
method

need

newcomer
place
possibility
problem
reason

afterincrease/decrease/growth; in is used before the

thing affected by the change.)
Not: an increase of the citys population
(Compare change in, above.)
Can you give us some information on/about bus tours,
please?
Not: some information of bus tours ?
He seems to have less interest in everything these
days.
Not: less interest to everything these days.
The invitation to the reception at the embassy arrived
the next day.
Not: The invitation of the reception
For this job you need some knowledge of Portuguese.
Not: some knowledge in Portuguese.
He has an amazing knowledge of European history.
Not: an amazing knowledge about European
history.
I need some lessons in how to set up a website.
Not: I need some lessons of how to
Can anyone become a member of your book club?
Not: a member in your book club?
Questionnaires are not necessarily the best method
ofcollecting sociological data.
Not: the best method to collect
We understand the need for change but we should
move slowly.
Not: the need of change
(Of is used with need in the expression in need of:
The village is in need of a community centre where
people, especially young people, can go in the
evenings.)
I was a newcomer to windsurfing so I was very
nervous.
Not: I was a newcomer of windsurfing
Id love to show you some of the nice places in my
hometown.
Not: the nice places of my hometown.
The possibility of making contact with other intelligent
beings in the universe is very small.
Not: The possibility to make contact
The problem of finding a good babysitter is one that
many parents have faced.
Not: The problem to find
Ive never understood the reason for all these different

risk
translation
visit

forms we have to fill in.

Not: the reason of all
We all know the risks of getting a virus if we dont
protect our computer.
Not: the risks for getting a virus
She did a translation into English of some ancient
Chinese poems.
Not: a translation in English
The visit to the temple was the high point of the
holiday.
Not: The visit in the temple

Other common nouns that we can use with specific prepositions are:
NOUN
A
access
advantage
admiration
alternative
attack
attitude
authority
association smt
C
commend
comparison
connection
contrast
credit
cruelty
charasteristic
cure
D
decrease
delay
desire
difference
difficulty
disadvantage
E

PREPOSITION
to
of
for
to
on
to /towards
on
with smt
on
between
between
with
for
towards
of
for
in
in
for
between/of
in/with
of

effect
exception
expert
experience
H
hope
I
increase
influence
information
intention
K
knowledge
L
lack
link
M
matter
N
need
notice
O
opinion
P
pleasure
preference
protection
R
reaction
reason
recipe
reduction
relationship
report
responsibility
result
respect
rise
room
S
solution

on
to
on/at/in
in
for
in
on
about
of

of
with
with
for
of
of/about
in
for
from
to
for
for
in
with
on
for
of
for
in
for
to

smell
sympathy
T
tax
taste
threat
trouble
U
use
V
victims

of
for
on
of
to
with
of
of

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIN HUMANAS Y TECNOLOGAS
LANGUAGE CAREER
GRAMMAR VI
NAME: ________________________________________________________________
DATE: _____________________________
COURSE: __________________________
OBJECTIVE: To identify the correct use of the nouns with prepositions.
TIME: 10 Minutes
INSTRUCTION: Complete the exercises with the correct preposition for / in / of / to / with /
between'

1. The connection

the two victims was slight.

--

2. The difference

the two is very slight.

--

3. Did you do any damage

the car?
--

4. He gave her a cheque

a lot of money.
--

5. The decrease

profits is due to the bad market.

--

6. We have seen a fall

prices recently.
--

7. Would you like to come

a walk with me?

--

8. What did you have

lunch?
--

9. He fell

love with Joanna over the course of several

--

months.
10.

I think your attitude

your employer is
--

very bad indeed.

11.

Do you have a good relationship

your father?
--

________________________________
SIGNATURE
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIN HUMANAS Y TECNOLOGAS
LANGUAGE CAREER
GRAMMAR VI
NAME: ________________________________________________________________
DATE: _____________________________
COURSE: __________________________
OBJECTIVE: To identify the correct use of the nouns with prepositions.
TIME: 10 Minutes
INSTRUCTION: Complete the exercises with the correct preposition for / in / of / to / with /
between'

1. The connection

the two victims was slight.

betw een

2. The difference

the two is very slight.

betw een

3. Did you do any damage

the car?
to

4. He gave her a cheque

a lot of money.
for

5. The decrease

profits is due to the bad market.

in

6. We have seen a fall

prices recently.
in

7. Would you like to come

a walk with me?

for

8. What did you have

lunch?
for

9. He fell

love with Joanna over the course of several

in

months.
10.

I think your attitude

your employer is
to OR tow ards

very bad indeed.

11.

Do you have a good relationship

your father?
w ith

________________________________
SIGNATURE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
DICTIONARY, C. (2014, 12). CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY ONLINE. Retrieved 01 07,
2016,
from
CAMBRIDGE
DICTIONARY
ONLINE:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/nouns-andprepositions

Sayfa, . (2015, 03 12). www.bedava-ingilizce.com. Retrieved 01 05, 2016, from

www.bedava-ingilizce.com:
http://www.bedavaingilizce.com/prepositions/noun_pre.htm
Woodham, R. (2013, 08 12). BBC WORLD SERVICE. Retrieved 01 08, 2016, from BBC
WORLD
SERVICE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv212.sht
ml