Verb + Preposition 2 (about / for / of / after)
Common verb + preposition combinations with about, for, of, and after, including care about vs. care for, and look for vs. look after
Verb + about
Several verbs pair naturally with about when you mention the topic.
| Verb + about | Example |
|---|---|
| talk about | We talked about the project timeline at the meeting. |
| read about | I read about the new company policy in the newsletter. |
| know about | Do you know about the system upgrade next week? |
You can also have a discussion about something:
- We had a discussion about the budget for Q3.
Watch out: the verb discuss takes a direct object with no preposition.
- We discussed the budget for Q3. (not
discussed about)
Do something about means to take action to fix or improve a situation.
- If clients keep complaining, we should do something about it.
- The printer has been broken for days, but nobody has done anything about it.
Verb + for
These verbs are followed by for.
| Verb + for | Example |
|---|---|
| ask (somebody) for | I asked my manager for a day off. |
| apply for | She applied for the senior analyst position. |
| wait for | We’re still waiting for the supplier to confirm the order. |
| search (a place) for | Security searched the building for the missing badge. |
| leave (a place) for | He left the office for the airport at 3 p.m. |
A few tricky points:
- You ask somebody for something, but you ask somebody the way / the time (no preposition).
- I asked the receptionist for directions. but I asked the receptionist the way to the meeting room.
- You apply to a company for a position.
- I applied to three firms for a marketing role.
- You search a place for something. The place comes before for.
- We searched the warehouse for the missing shipment.
- You leave a place for another place (not
leave to).- The team left Tokyo for Osaka yesterday morning.
Care about, care for, and take care of
These three expressions with care have different meanings. Mixing them up can change your message completely.
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| take care of | look after, handle | I’ll take care of the client meeting. You focus on the report. |
| care for (somebody) | look after, keep safe | She took a leave of absence to care for her mother. |
| not care for (something) | not like | I don’t care for working night shifts. |
| care about | think something is important | A good manager cares about the well-being of the team. |
When care is followed by a question word (what, where, how, whether), you do not need about.
- You can schedule the meeting whenever you want. I don’t care when it is.
- He doesn’t care whether we finish today or tomorrow.
Look for vs. look after
These two are easy to confuse, but they mean very different things.
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| look for | try to find, search for | I’m looking for the contract we signed last month. |
| look after | take care of, keep safe | Can you look after the new intern while I’m away? |
More examples:
- HR is looking for candidates with supply-chain experience.
- Please look after these documents. They contain confidential data.
Do not mix them up: if somebody needs protection or attention, use look after. If something is lost or you want to find it, use look for.
Quick Self-Check
We _____ the problem at the morning standup, but we didn't find a solution.
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I sent an email to the vendor _____ a revised quote.
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The office is a mess, but the facilities team hasn't done anything _____ it.
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She left the headquarters _____ the branch office at noon.
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The project deadline is tomorrow and nobody seems to _____ whether we deliver on time.
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