Prepositional verbs and verbs without prepositions
 Verbs are often followed by complements – for example, I’m learning English , I have a cat , and I play baroque music . But depending on their meaning, they require different types of complements – some starting with a preposition, and some without it. As a result, we hear music  but we listen to  music ; we see things  but we look at  them .   Prepositional verbs  are followed by a preposition that depends on  the verb: you agree  with  someone , you wait for  a bus , and you laugh at  a joke . However, these prepositions don’t occur when there is no object: ‘ Please wait, ’  ‘ Don’t laugh ,’ ‘ Do you agree? ’       She’s waiting for  the bus.   Not all verbs take prepositions: in English, you enter a building , you phone friends , and you discuss problems . On the other hand, some verbs can be used in more than one way: we may ask  a question , but we ask for  help ; we pay  tax , we pay  the rent , and we pay  ten euros , but we pay  for  a coffee .   What all this means is that, w...

 
 
 
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