Dependent Prepositions: interested in, depend on, good at

Some words simply come with their own preposition. You are good at something, interested in something, and things depend on other things. There's rarely a logical reason for the choice, so the trick isn't to work it out — it's to learn the word and its preposition together, as one chunk.

What they are

A dependent preposition is one that a particular verb or adjective almost always takes. The same idea in your language might use a different preposition — which is exactly why these are worth memorizing as pairs.

Adjective + preposition

These come up constantly when you describe feelings and abilities. A few of the most common:

Verb + preposition

Many everyday verbs need a preposition before their object:

What comes after: a noun or -ing

After a preposition, use a noun or the -ing form — never the infinitive with to. This is the single most common error with these pairs.

Here to is a preposition, so it too is followed by -ing: I look forward to seeing you, I'm used to getting up early — not "to see," "to get."

A few traps

Some verbs take no preposition where learners often add one, and a few pairs shift meaning.

And meaning can change with the preposition: think about a problem (consider it) vs think of a name (bring one to mind). When in doubt, learn the exact pair you need rather than guessing.

Common mistakes

Infinitive after the preposition. Use -ing, not to + verb.

"depend of". The pair is depend on (and dependent on).

"married with" a person. You are married to someone.

Note the different phrase married with two kids — that means she has children, not that she's married to them.

Quick exercise

Fill each gap with the right preposition.

1. I'm not very good ___ math.
2. It depends ___ the weather.
3. She's afraid ___ spiders.
4. Can you listen ___ me for a second?
5. He's responsible ___ the whole team.
6. Thanks for waiting ___ me.