25 Words And Their Prepositional Pals

You probably know a preposition — a word that shows a relationship between two words or phrases by demonstrating place, time, or another quality — when you see it, but that's grammar. What about usage? Which prepositions go with a given verb or adjective, and when?

Some choices are no-brainers, but others can present a challenge. Here's a guide to various words that require writers to choose from more than one preposition depending on meaning and sentence construction:

1. Abide "with us for a while," "by the rules" (or "I can't abide him").

2. Answer "to him for what you've done," "for what you've done."

3. Caution "about unsafe conditions," "against the rash proposal."

4. Compare "with other products that make the same claims," "apples to oranges."

5. Confide "in her about my problems," "to him what I really think."

6. Conversant "about climate change," "in several languages," "with aspects of technology."

7. Differ "from other species in their diet," "with them about the cause of the company's failure," or "about public policy," "on public policy," or "over public policy."

8. Different "from what he was used to," "than he was used to." From is the preferred usage, but than substitutes for "from what." ("Different to" is a Britishism.)

9. Dissent "against the status quo," "from the majority opinion." (To or with are not considered standard usage.)

10. Dissimilar "to her previous sculpture." (From is considered incorrect.)

11. Enamored "of every woman he meets." (With is considered incorrect.)

12. Equivalent "in amounts," "to the earlier result." (With is not considered standard usage.)

13. Excerpt "from their book was reprinted without their permission." (Of is considered incorrect.)

14. Forbid "him from attending," "him to attend." (To is considered the more correct of the two choices.)

15. Identical "to the one she saw yesterday," "with the one she saw yesterday." (Language purists consider with more correct, but use of to is significantly more common.)

16. Independent "of the group, he protested the plan." (From, as in "Independent from her family," is considered incorrect.)

17. Instilled "instilled a few drops of the solution into the wound," "in him a drive to succeed." (With, as in "Instilled with a drive to succeed," is considered incorrect.)

18. Oblivious "of the warning signs," "to the noise"; the choices are often interchangeable. (About is often used in association with oblivious, but it's not considered standard usage.)

19. Vexed "about her behavior," "at her behavior."

The correct preposition to use with the following words depends on whether the object is a person or a thing:

20. Comment "about her" or "to you about what happened," but "on the issue."

21. Impatient "with him," but "about the delay," "at the delay," or "with the delay."

22. Inquired "of him where he was going" and "after her whereabouts," but "into their progress" or "about the vacant apartment."

23. Mastery "over all other competitors," but "of the skill."

24. Reconcile "with her boyfriend," but "to the loss of her boyfriend."

25. Succeed "as a businessperson," but "to the position."

Thanks to Mark Nichol / Daily Writing Tips
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/25-words-and-their-prepositional-pals/