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?
Roger
Woodham replies:
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
answer/reply/
response to
contribution
to
damage
to
devotion
to
reference
to
relevance
to
resistance
to
solution
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 nosolution 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 nothreat 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
bid
for
cure
for
demand
for
recipe
for
respect
for
responsibility
for
room
for
search
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
date
with
dealings
with
meeting
with
involvement
with
link
with
quarrel
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
grudge
against
anger
at
bond
between
excerpt
from
awareness
of
grasp
of
control
over
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
debate
about / on
decision
about / on
difficulty
with / in
love
of / for
need of / for
transition
from / to
reason
for / 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.
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