208 English Grammar Demystifi ed
There are meals in the morning and noon.The way it is written, this sentence actually says that there are meals in the morning
and in the noon. The preposition is in. Is this the correct word for each item? No, it
should be in the morning and at noon.
Some words and verbs use prepositions as well. Look at this example:The cancer researcher is interested and excited about the new advances in
medical technology.What are the words in the parallel structure? They are interested and excited. The
researcher is excited about the advances. This use of the preposition about is cor-
rect. What about interested? Does about go with interested? Test the phrases:excited about the advances...? Correct.interested about the advances...? Incorrect.The correct preposition to use with interested is in. Therefore, the earlier sentence
is incorrect. The correct preposition must be used with each item of a parallel struc-
ture. The following is correct:The cancer researcher is interested in and excited about the new advances in
medical technology.When you are in doubt about which preposition to use, consult the following
list:Common Verbs and Adjectives with Prepositions*agree with apologize for apply for apply to
approve of argue for argue with arrive at
arrive in be be absent from be accused of
be accustomed to be acquainted with be addicted to be afraid of
be angry at be angry with be annoyed at be annoyed with
be associated with be aware of be capable of be cluttered with
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.net, 2009. All rights reserved.