Verb + Preposition 4 (of / for / from / on)
Common verb + preposition combinations with of, for, from, and on used in everyday and workplace English
Verb + of
Some verbs always pair with of. Here are the most useful ones.
| Verb pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| accuse somebody of | The manager accused him of leaking confidential data. |
| suspect somebody of | A few employees were suspected of sharing their passwords. |
| approve / disapprove of | The board doesn’t approve of the new pricing strategy. |
| die of / die from (an illness) | He died of a heart attack shortly after retiring. |
| consist of | The training programme consists of five modules and a final exam. |
Notice that approve and disapprove need of — you approve of something, not approve something.
With die, both of and from are possible when you talk about an illness or injury.
Verb + for
Several common verbs take for.
| Verb pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| pay (somebody) for | The client refused to pay for the extra design work. |
| thank somebody for | I thanked my colleague for covering my shift. |
| forgive somebody for | She forgave him for missing the deadline. |
| apologise (to somebody) for | He apologised to the team for the confusion. |
| blame somebody for | Don’t blame the intern for the server crash. |
Pay: preposition or no preposition?
This trips people up. Compare:
- We paid for the repair. (you pay for a thing or service)
- We paid the bill. (no preposition with bill, fine, fee, tax, rent, or a sum of money)
So you pay for something you receive, but you pay a bill / a fine / the rent directly.
Blame: for vs. on
Blame can work in two directions:
- blame somebody for a problem — They blamed the supplier for the delay.
- blame something on somebody — They blamed the delay on the supplier.
Both sentences carry the same meaning. The preposition changes depending on word order.
Verb + from
Two important verbs take from.
| Verb pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| suffer from | She suffers from migraines, especially during busy periods. |
| protect somebody/something from | A good firewall protects the network from cyberattacks. |
Verb + on
These verbs pair with on.
| Verb pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| depend on | The launch date depends on how fast we finish testing. |
| rely on | You can rely on Kenji — he never misses a deadline. |
| live on (money / food) | It’s hard to live on a trainee salary in this city. |
| congratulate somebody on | I congratulated her on getting the promotion. |
| compliment somebody on | The director complimented us on our presentation skills. |
Depend: with or without on?
When depend is followed by a question word (when, where, how, what, etc.), the preposition on is optional:
- It depends on how much it costs. (with on)
- It depends how much it costs. (without on — also fine)
Both are correct. In formal writing, keeping on is more common.
Quick Self-Check
The project team _____ three developers and a designer.
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We didn't have enough budget to pay _____ the new software licence.
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Don't blame the delay _____ the new team members. It wasn't their fault.
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Whether we hold the event outdoors _____ the weather forecast.
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I called Yuki to congratulate her _____ winning the employee-of-the-month award.
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