Unit 3.2
Common Noun and Preposition Combinations
Introduction
Noun and preposition combinations are common collocations of nouns and prepositions.
Form
Noun and preposition combinations consist of a noun and a preposition. The most commonly used prepositions which follow certain nouns are about, for, of and to.
Examples of nouns which precede these prepositions in sentences are:
- Anxiety, Story + about + …
- Reputation, Responsibility, Reason, Regret, Talent + for + …
- Advantage, Disadvantage, Fear, Habit, Knowledge, Process + of + …
- Addiction, dedication, devotion, reaction + to …
Example
- They are trying to manage their anxiety about the presentation.
- He has a repuation for being a tough personality.
- Tara has a talent for playing instruments.
- There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence.
- Her reaction to the professor speech surprised everyone.
Use
We use some prepositions with certain nouns in order to express something, but there are no grammatical rules on how to combine them in a sentence.
Summary
Noun and preposition combinations are common collocations of nouns and prepositions. We use certain nouns only with specific prepositions.
The most common combinations are:
- Anxiety, Story + about + …
- Reputation, Responsibility, Reason, Regret, Talent + for + …
- Advantage, Disadvantage, Fear, Habit, Knowledge, Process + of + …
- Addiction, dedication, devotion, reaction + to …
For example:
— “Tara has a talent for playing instruments.” = The noun talent is followed by the preposition for.
— “Her reaction to the speech surprised everyone.” = The noun reaction is followed by the preposition to.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.