TOP Tips for Using English Prepositions Correctly! | Speak Like a Native

Hi there. This is Harry. And welcome back  to my advanced English Lessons with Harry,  

where I try to help you get a better  understanding of the English language,  

help you with some expressions, phrasal  verbs, and improve your vocabulary. In  

this particular lesson, we're going to take a  look at phrases or expressions that will help  

you speak more easily, particularly with  an emphasis on the correct preposition.

Which preposition goes with which  words so that when you speak,  

it'll sound much more professional and you'll be  able to do it much more easily when you practice.

So, this is an advanced English lesson.  We've got 18 collocations for easy speaking.

So what I'll do is I'll give you the expression  and then I'll give you a situation when you can  

use it. It will help you practice, and  practice is the only way to improve.

Number one. Absent. Absent from. This can be  simply used when somebody is absent from work  

for a few days due to illness. They can  be absent from school because they just  

decided not to go to school and didn't  tell their parents, and the teachers are  

a little bit concerned. So we can be absent  from work, absent from school, absent from  

university when we are missing either because  of illness or because we just didn't show up.

Absent from.

Number two. To be keen on. This is  a very well-used expression. Keen on  

always follows with on. They often see  keen in but it's keen on. He or she is  

keen on a boy or girl in his or her  class, or to be keen on means to be  

interested in. Keen on in this sense is  to have a physical attraction to somebody.

Or you can also be keen on a sport, yoga,  pilates, football, gym work. For example, he's  

very keen on football. He's always kicking a ball  against the wall. She's very keen on cooking,  

she's always got her head in a new recipe  book. Okay, so to be keen on something

or to be keen on somebody. If  it's that physical attraction,  

you can be keen on the job. Yeah. Okay. So you  see an advertisement on the internet. Well then  

you can be keen on that particular aspect  where you might want to develop your career.

Short of. Usually, when we use short of, it's

short of space or short of  time, two good examples.

If you're living in a very small  apartment or an apartment where  

you've got 2 or 3 people living  with you, then you might be short

of space or short of space, there's nowhere  to put anything, you have to put everything  

in boxes and store it at a friend's home, or  store it in a garage to be short of space.

When you're short of time, it just means  you're running out of time. It might be  

perpetual. Every day I always seem to be short of  time. I never have enough time to do anything. So  

when you're short of space, you don't have  enough space. When you're short of time,  

you don't have enough time to do  the things that you want to do.

I never seem to get time to do this. I never seem  to get time to do that. I'm always short of time.

Number four. Oh no. Again we're using short here.  

We're using a slightly different  preposition, short on. So this

is an expression we use when we have run out or we  

are about to run out of some particular  product. For example, short on coffee.

Short on bags. If you go into  the supermarket and you buy

your weekly groceries and you forget to bring  a bag with you, you might ask the cashier,  

"Can I have a bag, please?" She might say,  "Oh, we're very short on bags. We didn't  

get the delivery we were expecting. So  I can only give you these smaller bags."

So to be short on something means to either  have very few left or to have run out.

Number five. To be suspicious of. When we  are suspicious, we have our doubts about  

something. So we are suspicious of the people  who live next door. We are suspicious of the  

motive of our boss when he offers to give us a  slight increase in pay, but what does he want  

in return? He might want you to work longer hours  or have a shorter lunch time or whatever he wants.

So we're a little bit suspicious of somebody's  

motives, the reasons why they  are being nice and kind to us.

If somebody is always a little bit grumpy or

a little bit standoffish and they don't speak to  you and then suddenly out of the blue, they become

a little bit more friendly, and  then they start asking you things,

you are a little bit suspicious of them  because you're not quite sure. Why have  

they changed? Why have they suddenly  become nice to you? Perhaps they're  

looking for a favor. Yeah. Okay.  So to be suspicious of somebody.

Number six. Better at. Lots of people are better  

at things than I am. Somebody  is better at it than I am.

I might be better at

other things, like crossword puzzles  or board games, than other people. I  

love the game of Scrabble, so I'm better at  Scrabble than some of my family members who  

always think I cheat anyway. But I don't  really. But they think I cheat, so to be  

better at something. Okay, so your children  could be better at science and mathematics,  

or they could be better at English  literature than the French language.

Okay, so to be better at something  means they have a higher mark,  

better aptitude, or more skills in  a particular area than someone else,  

or than something that you  compare with. So to be better at

cooking than baking, to be better  at running than cycling. Okay.

All right to be better at. But again,  

focus here on that preposition. At. Better  at. Not better on. Not better in. Better at.

Number seven. Late for. Wow. Well, we're  always running around. Late for the bus.  

Late for work. Late for the meeting. Late for  the cinema. Yeah. So when we're always in a  

rush trying to get out of the door, it's  7:45 and the movie starts at 8:00. "Oh,  

I'm late for the movie. If I don't get my  skates on, I'm going to be really late."

And I hate missing the beginning

of a movie.

Late for work again. The boss  is going to be really annoyed. I  

promised that I'd be there on time this week. But

it's a cold morning, difficult to get out of  bed. So to be late for something. Late for work.

My mother used to tell me you'll be late  for your own funeral. And so when you're  

always late running out the door. Yeah.  Running to get here. Running down the  

stairs to get breakfast. Come on, hurry  up. You'll be late for your own funeral.

Number eight. Late with something.  So again here we're using late. But  

here when we're talking about  late with something it means

a time deadline, perhaps to get something  submitted. You're late with your report,  

so perhaps you have to put in a weekly report to  

your boss about the time you've spent on  particular cases. If you're working in

an accounting environment  and some sort of auditing,

it has to be submitted by a certain time.  But you're late with your report this week  

or this month so that it holds up the accounting  department. You're late with your application,  

so you see a job advertised, but you  didn't notice it the previous week.

But the deadline is tomorrow, so you really  have to hurry and get your CV together. Get  

your covering letter prepared so that you  can submit it, and that it will be accepted.

So you're late with that submission.  Late with the application.

Number nine. Similar to. This is quite  a common and popular and well-used

expression. So similar to, "Oh, that dress  is similar to the one I bought last summer."  

Just a little bit change in the shades, but  it's very similar. "I think I'll just take  

mine out of the wardrobe, take it to the dry  cleaners and it will look as good as new."

Similar to.

"Isn't that car similar to the one you were  looking at? Isn't that something that you would  

like to get?" Yeah. So when something is similar  to, it's similar to something we have seen,  

similar to something we already have, similar to  something we saw last week. So similar to means  

like. Okay, it looks like it's the same, so we can  use similar to, "He is similar to his brother."

"She is similar to her mother." "This bike  is similar to the one I saw in the shop,  

but it was much cheaper where I got it.  I don't know why they are charging so  

much." So similar in its looks, but  not necessarily similar in the price.

Similar to.

Number ten. So we're halfway there.  Number ten. And number ten is  

terrible at. So somebody is terrible at something.  "Oh, I'm terrible at Monopoly. I always lose."

"I pick up a couple of properties here  and there, but I never seem to be able  

to buy a whole street that I can  start putting those little green  

houses and red hotels on it. So it gets very  frustrating." So I'm terrible at board games.

Or a son or daughter might be terrible at  sports, they have no interest in playing.

Board games. They like playing online  games. They like staying in their room,  

chatting with their friends. They're just terrible  at sport. I think they take after me. To be  

terrible at something means to be bad, not to have  the level of skills that somebody else might have.

Okay, and if you like this particular  lesson, then please like the video.

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Okay,

let's get back to our lesson. As we said,  

it's an advanced lesson looking at  collocations for easy speaking. And  

we're on to number 11. Okay. Number 11 is guilty  of something or guilty of doing something. Yeah.

Of course, when we talk about crimes,  somebody is guilty of committing the crime.

Once they are charged by the police and  have gone before the judge and have been

found guilty, they are guilty  of that particular crime.

Yeah. So he is guilty of. She is guilty of

your son breaks the window at school, he's guilty  of breaking the window, but he's not going to be

sent to jail.

He's going to be perhaps punished by  the teacher because he wasn't supposed  

to be playing football in the first place. But

who hasn't done something like  that during their school years?

So to be guilty of

doing something.

Number 12. When we are opposed to  something. When you're opposed to something,  

it means you don't agree with it. You  don't agree with somebody's view. You  

don't agree with somebody's direction.  You don't agree with some decisions. So  

I'm opposed to always use that preposition  to. Opposed to the development that's taking  

place near where you live. And this is a  very common complaint people will have.

They've been living in an area  for several years. They've got  

a nice green space that the kids can play in,

nice to walk around on a summer's  day, but you find out there's a  

notice that they're going to develop  it, build more apartments, or build

a factory or a school or a hospital or something.

You are opposed to it. You  object to the development.

Number 13. Sorry for. So we're always sorry  for something. Well, at least I seem to be.  

"I'm sorry for missing your birthday." "I'm  sorry for forgetting to get the flowers."

Children often are sorry for when they shout  or scream at their parents because they just  

don't know how to control their anger. What are  you sorry for? "Yeah, I'm sorry for screaming."  

"I'm sorry for shouting." "I'm sorry for losing my  temper." So I am sorry for something. "I'm sorry  

for your troubles" is an expression we often hear  when somebody has had a lot of health problems,  

or they've had some problems in their  family, and the friends hear about it.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your troubles."

It's very sad when somebody has difficulties.

So I'm sorry for your troubles  and sorry for your difficulties.

Number 14. Terrified of. Terrified is when we  have fear. Okay, so somebody can be terrified  

of the dark. Kids often have those sorts of  fears. Somebody can be terrified of dogs.  

Lots of people have a fear of dogs. Not even  big dogs, just small dogs. They don't like  

them running around and barking and snapping at  their heels, so they're terrified of something.

These are fears that people genuinely  have. If it's a really, really strong fear,  

then we refer to it as a phobia. A fear  of the dark, a fear of small spaces,  

a fear of open spaces. Terrified  of all of these things. Like me,

terrified of heights, tall buildings.

I don't like standing in the open  on the top of a small building, on  

a watch tower or observation tower or one of these

platforms where you can look around the city,  

get great views, but I'm terrified of those.  Okay. You can use other words like scared of,  

or frightened of because they mean  exactly the same. Terrified of.

Number 15. Harmful to. This is a warning.  We use this expression when we want to warn  

somebody about something. This could be harmful  to your health. It's a warning sign that you see  

on tobacco packets of cigarettes. Smoking  cigarettes can be harmful to your health.  

It's a warning sign. Drinking too much  or excessive alcohol can be harmful to

your health. Or as my parents used to advise  me, "If you're trying to read late at night,  

and we always used to read under the  blanket with a torch," yes, because the

parents would switch the light off and say,  "Go to sleep." Then you'd get your book out  

and you'd be under the blankets making a  little tent, and you have your torch light,  

and they would tell you, "Oh, reading with  a torch would be harmful to your eyesight."

And that's why we end up wearing glasses, so  they used to say. Okay, so something that is  

harmful to something is going to cause damage.  Harmful to your health, harmful to your eyesight,

harmful to the environment. The green  movement at the moment is trying to

force people's views and attention to stop using  fossil fuels in the way that we do because it is  

harmful to the environment. We damage the  environment and we end up with all these

global climate issues, climate change,  and this whole greenhouse gas effect.

Okay. So to be harmful to.

Number 16. We're getting near the end. Number  16 is satisfied with. So here we have the  

preposition with. Satisfied with. When you're  satisfied with something, you're happy. You're  

content. He's satisfied with his life at the  moment. He's got the job that he always wanted.  

We'll see how long that lasts. Satisfied  with. Satisfied with the salary increase.

You got satisfied with the bonus  you were awarded? Satisfied with  

the birthday present you received, and  satisfied with the gifts you bought for  

Christmas for your friends and family.  So always happy about something. Happy

about what you have done, what you have  achieved to be satisfied with. We can  

use that expression. He is satisfied with. She is.

We are. They are satisfied with. He was  satisfied with his job until his manager  

changed. Then he lost interest and decided  to change his job. Also to be satisfied with.

Number 17. Suitable for. We can  use this as suitable for somebody  

or suitable for something.  You see these little warning

signs on

packets or boxes or articles  that we're going to purchase.

"This toy is suitable for children over  the age of three." So if you're looking  

for a Christmas or birthday present  for a niece, nephew, son, daughter,  

grandson, granddaughter, and you're  looking at the boxes, you'll always  

see these little notices. "This toy is only  suitable for children over the age of five."

Or "this toy is suitable for children

three plus," meaning anyone over the age of three  or from three to five years. All of these notices  

appear on books, on toys and games, everything  like that, to be suitable for somebody. If we want  

to say suitable for something, if you're looking  at clothing, it could be suitable for summer.

Suitable for winter.

Suitable for spring. Suitable for autumn.  

If you're looking at dishes and glasses,  you might check if they are suitable for  

use in the oven. Can you actually place it  in the oven? Is it suitable for use in the  

microwave? Some dishes are not suitable for that,  so you have to watch out for the warning signs.

But always that preposition suitable for.  Suitable for somebody and suitable for something.

Number 18. This is a very good one  to use now because you're probably  

tired as well because we've got a long  list here. Tired of something. Tired  

of doing something. "I'm tired of work."  "I want a holiday. I want a break." "I'm  

tired of listening to this. I've  been going on forever and ever."

Get tired of listening to. "Tired  of waking up feeling exhausted every  

morning." But guess what? You should go to  bed a little bit earlier in the evenings,  

and maybe you might not be so tired when  you wake up. But that preposition. Tired  

of. "Tired of work." "Tired of listening  to somebody." "Tired of always having to  

work late, always having to work on  a Saturday," or just "tired of life."

This is just when somebody feels as if  they've done enough. They just need a  

break. They need to do something.  They need to get away from here.  

They need to change something in their  life. More tired of things in general.

Okay, so there you go. You got it. 18 in total,  18 collocations for easy speaking. Hopefully,  

I've given you some good sentences where you  can use them. You can express yourself. Try  

to take a few of them. Change the words  a little bit that I've given you. Try to  

think of areas where you might be suspicious  of, better at, guilty of, or opposed to.

Just try to practice them. Take 3 or 4 of  them. Put them into sentences. Write them  

down. Repeat them. Drop them into your  conversation. You'd be surprised how  

quickly you can improve your English  in that way. Okay, so this is Harry  

saying thanks for listening. Thanks for  watching and join me for the next lesson.