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 but there are no grammatical rules on how to combine them in a sentence.
Noun
In these combinations, 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 …
Preposition
In these combinations the most commonly used prepositions which follow certain nouns are about, for, of and 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 with a specific meaning.
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 followed by about;
- Reputation, Responsibility, Reason, Regret, Talent followed by for;
- Advantage, Disadvantage, Fear, Habit, Knowledge, Process followed by of;
- Addiction, dedication, devotion, reaction followed by 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.