Choosing Prepositions, Using Gerunds

The gerund (aka present participle) is used much more often in English than in French.  Read these notes and do the activity that follows.

Review these phrases:
accuse of	They were accused of breaking into a shop.
agree with	I agree with playing darts.
apologize for	They apologize for being late.
believe in	She doesn't believe in getting lost in the wood.
blame for	The reporter is blamed for writing bad stories.
complain about	She complains about bullying.
concentrate on	Do you concentrate on reading or writing?
congratulate sb. on	I wanted to congratulate you on making such a good speech.
cope with	He is not sure how to cope with getting older.
decide against	They decided against stealing the car.
depend on	Success may depend on becoming more patient.
dream about/of	Sue dreams of being a pop star.
feel like	They feel like going to bed.
get used to	You must get used to working long hours.
insist on	The girls insisted on going out with Mark.
look forward to	I'm looking forward to seeing you soon.
prevent sb. from sth.	How can I prevent Kate from working in this shop?
rely on sth.	He doesn't rely on winning in the casino.
succeed in	How then can I succeed in learning chemistry?
specialize in	The firm specialized in designing websites.
stop sb. from	I stopped Andrew from smoking.
talk about/of	They often talk about travelling to New Zealand.
think of	Frank thinks of playing chess.
warn sb. against	We warned them against using this computer.
worry about	The patient worries about having the check-up.

Note - Go straight to the gerund after these verbs: admit, avoid, before, after, consider, stop, start, dread, regret, deny, enjoy, feel like, finish, imagine, involve, keep, risk, practice, suggest

Example: She admitted going to the club, but denied stealing a glass.  
You keep asking me that question, and I will continue to avoid answering it.

Test yourself: preposition and gerund practice.