Appropriate Prepositions

Talk with / Talk to / Talk about / Talk of / Talk over

Talk with / Talk to means to have a conversation.

• I talked with my friend about the new project.

Talk about / Talk of means to discuss something.

• They talked of their future plans.

Talk over means to discuss in detail.

• We need to talk over the proposal before making a decision.

Taste of / Taste for

Taste of means to have a flavor.

• This soup tastes of garlic.

Taste for means to have a liking for something.

• He has no taste for spicy food.

Testify to

Testify to means to confirm or give evidence of something.

• His success testifies to his hard work.

Thankful to / Thankful for

Thankful to means feeling gratitude toward someone.

Thankful for means being grateful for something.

• I am thankful to my parents for their support.

Think of / Think about

Think of means to consider briefly or have an opinion about something.

• What do you think of his new haircut?

Think about means to reflect on something more deeply.

• She is thinking about changing her job.

Think over

Think over means to consider something carefully before making a decision.

• Think over my advice before deciding.

Thirst for / Thirst after

Thirst for / Thirst after means to have a strong desire for something.

• He thirsts for success in his career.
• Many people thirst after power and fame.

Tide over

Tide over means to help someone overcome a difficult time.

• His savings tided him over the financial crisis.

Tired of / Tired by / Tired with

Tired of means bored or frustrated with something.

• I am tired of waiting in this long queue.

Tired by means physically exhausted due to something.

• She was tired by the long walk home.

Tired with means exhausted due to an activity.

• He is tired with all the work he has done today.

Tolerant of

Tolerant of means being patient and accepting differences.

• We should be tolerant of different opinions.

Touch at / Touch upon / Touch with

Touch at means to stop briefly at a place.

• The ship will touch at several ports before reaching its destination.

Touch upon means to refer to a topic briefly.

• He touched upon the importance of education in his speech.

Touch with means to be emotionally affected by something.

• She was touched with pity when she saw the injured child.

Treat with / Treat of / Treat to

Treat with means to negotiate or deal with someone.

• The government treated with the union leaders about wage issues.

Treat of means to discuss a subject.

• This book treats of ancient history.

Treat to means to give someone a special experience.

• He treated us to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

Tremble with

Tremble with means to shake due to emotion or condition.

• She trembled with fear when she heard the loud noise.

Triumph over

Triumph over means to achieve victory over something.

• He triumphed over all difficulties and became successful.

True to

True to means being loyal or faithful to something.

He was always true to his word.

Trust to / Trust in / Trust with

Trust to means to rely on something.

• You should trust to your instincts.

Trust in means to have faith in something.

• Always trust in God.

Trust with means to give responsibility to someone.

• I trusted him with my secret.

Tyrannize over

Tyrannize over means to treat others in a cruel or oppressive way.

• The dictator tyrannized over his people for years.

Unequal to

Unequal to means not capable of handling something.

• He is unequal to the task of leading the team.

Uneasy about

Uneasy about means feeling worried or uncomfortable.

• I am uneasy about the outcome of the exam.

Union with / In unison with

Union with means to be joined together with someone.

• He sought union with his old friend after years of separation.

In unison with means acting together in agreement.

• The dancers moved in unison with the music.

Unite with

Unite with means to join together with someone.

• The two companies united with each other to form a larger corporation.

United to

United to means married to someone.

• She is united to a nobleman from England.

Urge upon

Urge upon means to strongly recommend something to someone.

• The teacher urged the importance of hard work upon his students.

Use of / Use for / Use to

Use of means the purpose of something.

• What is the use of this tool?

Use for means the need for something.

• Do you have any use for this old chair?

Use to means helpfulness to someone.

• This book is of great use to me for my studies.

Used to

Used to means accustomed to something.

• He is used to working late at night.

Useful to / Useful for

Useful to means beneficial to someone.

• This advice will be useful to you.

Useful for means suitable for a specific purpose.

• This pen is useful for writing in calligraphy.

Vain of

Vain of means overly proud of something.

• She is vain of her beautiful hair.

Vary from / At variance with

Vary from means to differ from something.

• Your answer varies from the correct one.

At variance with means to be in disagreement with something.

• His opinion is at variance with mine.

Versed in

Versed in means knowledgeable or skilled in something.

• He is well versed in classical literature.

Vest in / Vest with

Vest in means to grant authority or power to someone.

• The power to make laws is vested in the Parliament.

Vest with means to provide someone with power or responsibility.

• The committee was vested with the responsibility of organizing the event.

Vexed with / Vexed for / Vexed at

Vexed with means annoyed at someone.

Vexed for means annoyed for a specific reason.

• She is vexed with her friend for lying.

Vexed at means irritated about something.

• He was vexed at the delay in his flight.

Victim of

Victim of means someone who suffers from an event or situation.

• He was a victim of a scam.

Victim to

Victim to means to suffer due to something.

• He died a victim to his own foolishness.
• He fell a victim to greed.

Vie with / Vie in

Vie with means to compete with someone.

• The students vied with each other in the debate competition.

Vie in means to compete in a particular quality or action.

• They vied in showing their respect to the teacher.

(In) View of / (With a) View to

In view of means considering something.

• In view of your efforts, I will give you another chance.

With a view to means with the intention of doing something.

• He came here with a view to getting my advice.

Void of

Void of means completely lacking something.

• His argument was void of any logic.

Wait for / Wait at / Wait upon

Wait for means to expect someone or something.

• I waited for you at the bus stop.

Wait at means to stay at a location until something happens.

• We waited at the restaurant for an hour.

Wait upon means to serve someone.

• The butler waited upon the guests at dinner.

Want of / Wanting in

Want of means lack of something (as a noun).

• He suffered from want of food and shelter.

Wanting in means being deficient in something (as an adjective).

• She is wanting in patience when dealing with children.

Warn (someone) of / Warn (someone) against

Warn of means to alert someone about danger.

• I warned him of the dangers of reckless driving.

Warn against means to advise someone not to do something.

• She warned me against trusting that stranger.

Weak of / Weak in

Weak of means lacking intelligence or understanding.

• She is weak of memory and often forgets things.

Weak in means not good at a subject or skill.

• He is weak in mathematics but strong in science.

Wink at

Wink at means to ignore or overlook a fault.

• Do not wink at your child’s mistakes; correct them early.

Wish for

Wish for means to desire something.

• I wish for a peaceful life.

Witness against / Witness for / Witness to / Witness of

Witness against means to testify against someone.

• The man acted as a witness against the thief in court.

Witness for means to testify in support of someone.

• She was a witness for the accused in the case.

Witness to means to provide proof of something.

• His torn clothes were a witness to the struggle.

Witness of means someone who has seen or experienced something.

• He is a witness of the tragic accident.

Wonder at

Wonder at means to be amazed by something.

• We wondered at the beauty of the sunset.

Worthy of

Worthy of means deserving of something.

• He is worthy of praise for his hard work.

Yield to

Yield to means to give in or surrender.

• The rebels finally yielded to the king’s army.

Zealous for / Zealous in

Zealous for means passionate about something.

• He is zealous for justice and fights for people’s rights.

Zealous in means enthusiastic in performing a task.

• She is zealous in her studies and works very hard.

Zest for

Zest for means great enthusiasm for something.

• He has a zest for adventure and loves exploring new places.