Today we will be looking at four prepositions that are often used with nouns: to, for, with and on.
The preposition 'to' generally indicates a direction or a destination: "I am going to the park" (the park is my destination, and I am going in that direction). 'To' is also used to indicate the receiver of an action: "I gave some coffee to her" ('her' is the receiver of the action).
'To' is often used with:
- nouns that express direction/destination: the train 'to' London, access 'to' the stadium
- nouns that receive an action: answer 'to' a question, threat 'to' someone, solution 'to' a problem, reference 'to' a movie, addiction 'to' drugs.
The preposition 'for' generally indicates a purpose for doing something or an endpoint. Whereas "a train 'to' London" will go 'to' London, "a train 'for' London" is a train whose final destination is London. When the train reaches London, it has fulfilled its destination.
'For' is often used with:
- nouns that have some goal/target: a cure for cancer, the search for the missing child, a thirst for revenge
- nouns that express feelings towards someone/something: admiration for her work, respect for people who overcome difficulties
The preposition 'with' indicates that two or more people/things are doing something together.
'With' often follows nouns that express an action/event done together by two or more people: 'a meeting with the client', 'an argument with her husband', 'a date with her boyfriend'.
The preposition 'on' indicates that one thing is supported by another thing. "An apple is on the table" tells us that the table supports the apple.
'On' is often used with nouns that indicate that one person or thing depends on another: 'dependence on his parents', 'society's over-reliance on technology'.
