K to P Prepositions Flashcards
Learn some of the most common combinations of verbs and prepositions. Really useful for the Use of English Section of the Exam.
to be kind to
to treat sb / sth in a gentle and friendly way
e.g. He was always very kind to me.
to be lacking in sth
not to have enough of sth
e.g. His problems stem from the fact that he is lacking in confidence.
to lapse into another language
to start speaking in a different language (especially your mother tongue)
e.g. When she got excited she had a tendency to lapse into Italian.
to lavish praise on sb / sth
to say that sth (particularly a book or film) is very good
e.g. “You can’t expect the critics to lavish praise on everything you write,” she said.
to be licensed to do sth
to have official permission to do sth, or to sell sth
e.g. We are not licensed to sell fireworks.
to liken sb / sth to sb / sth else
to say or write that sth / sb is similar to sth / sb else
e.g. The poet likens the lady to a summer’s day.
to long for sth
(literary) to really want sth
e. g. She longed for him to take her dancing.
to marvel at
to be very surprised by sth (because it is very good, very clever, etc) and to admire it as a result
e.g. He marvelled at the way she dealt with the problem.
to meddle in sb’s life / affairs
to interfere in a situation which does not concern you, causing other people problems
e.g. Now she hates you. That’s what you get for meddling in her affairs.
to meet with little / no success
(formal) to be unsuccessful
e. g. The minister tried to persuade the union to call off the strike, but met with little success.
to merge with
to join together to form one (company)
e.g. If BMY merges with Vectron, the resulting company will become the biggest automobile manufacturer in the world.
to model sth on sth else
to design a particular system (educational, legal, electoral, transport, etc) so that it is a copy of another system
e.g. They’ve modelled their electoral system on ours.
to be a newcomer to
to have recently started / arrived
e.g. We’re newcomers to this area.
to be noted for
to be well known and admired for [Note: to be notorious for: to be well known for having a bad quality]
e.g. This region of Chile is noted for its beautiful mountain scenery.
Chanta Air is notorious for its appalling in-flight service.
to be obsessed with
not to be able to stop thinking about sth
e.g. He is obsessed with football.
It never occurred to me that / to do sth
at no time did I think that / of doing sth [Note: for questions Didn’t it ever occur to you that… (criticism is implied), Did it ever occur to you that… (no criticism is implied)
e.g. It never occurred to him that she might / would be offended by what he said.
Didn’t it ever occur to you that I might be worried?
Did it ever occur to you that your book would become the biggest selling novel of all time?
to be opposed to
to disagree with and disapprove of sth
e.g. I’m not coming with you. I’m (totally) opposed to bullfighting.
to persist in
to continue to do sth even though you have previously been warned or told not to
e.g. If you persist in being late, you will be expelled.
a place is plunged into darkness
the lights suddenly go off in a place and it becomes very dark
e.g. An electrical fault plunged the area into darkness.
to be popular with
to be liked by
e.g. This kind of music is popular with teenagers.
to be powerless to do sth
to be unable to do sth because you lack legal power / authority / enough strength
e.g. Heavily outnumbered, the police were powerless to prevent the rioters from entering the palace.
to pretend to / that
to behave as if you did or felt sth when in fact you didn’t
e.g. He pretended to be surprised.
He pretended that he hadn’t heard.
to be pressed / pushed for time
to be in a hurry and hence have very little time to do sth
e.g. I think I’m going to take a cab. I’m a bit pressed for time.
to prevent sb / sth from doing sth
to stop sb from doing sth
e.g. The government has introduced price controls in order to prevent the economy from spinning out of control.
to pride yourself on sth / the fact that
to be proud of
e.g. The Venice Film Festival prides itself on being the arty alternative to the more commercially orientated Cannes Film Festival.
prior to
(formal) before
Opp: subsequent to
e.g. We did a lot of market research prior to launching this product.
