Most students are familiar with the common English prepositions of time and place:
Around the world birth rates fell in the twentieth century.
But prepositions that follow verbs can be more confusing. Compare:
Scientists are looking into the problem of resistance to antibiotics.
In nurseries, one carer can only look after three babies.
Dictionaries allow us to look up the exact meanings of words.
In each case, the main verb (to look) is the same, but the meaning is changed by the use of different prepositions.
The following verbs + prepositions are commonly used in academic writing:
agree with - Professor Yu agreed with Jones and Hillier (1997)
believe in - 45% of the group believed in ghosts
concentrate/ focus on - The present study will focus on the economic costs of the conflict
consist of - Parliament consists of two Houses - the Commons and the Lords
depend on - The policy depended on a supply of cheap energy
learn from - All students should learn from their mistakes
specialise in - She hopes to specialise in the history of Greenland
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