Gerunds and Infinitives:  Object of the Preposition

10-3 object of the preposition + gerund

Welcome to Our Online English Grammar HELP! Student Handbook!

In this lesson we continue our unit on gerunds and infinitive phrases.

What's wrong with this sentence?

Problem: Everybody in a family should be devoted to help each other.

Before you begin the activities, we suggest that you read, listen to, and study the podcast and grammar lesson, What Is a Gerund? What Is an Infinitive Phrase?

[verb + preposition] + gerund

 

Many adjectives have a required associated preposition.  Many transitive verbs (i.e. verbs that take an object) also have a required associated preposition when the object of the verb is stated. In these situations, the object of the preposition will be followed by a gerund.

(For more on this, go to "Prepositions and Transitive Verbs". )

Use this pattern when -

  • the adjective has an associated preposition, or

  • the verb has an associated preposition

We have provided a few examples from our students in the chart below. Where the object of the verb + preposition is left blank, create an appropriate gerund phrase.

ADJECTIVES
(to be) afraid of ( ) I'm afraid of having problems with my landlord.
(to be) grateful for ( ) We need to be grateful for _________________.
(to be) interested in ( ) Children seem to be interested in _________________.
(to be) satisfied with ( ) Man is never satisfied with _________________.
(to be) used to ( ) I am getting used to _________________.
VERBS
adapt to ( ) One must learn to adapt to _________________.
approve of ( ) Marie's father didn't approve of _________________.
agree with ( ) I agree with  _________________
concentrate on ( ) I can't concentrate on doing my homework.
devoted to ( ) Everybody in a family should be devoted to helping each other.
remind (someone) of ( ) The character in this story reminded me of _________________.
thank ( ) for  ( ) I thank God for allowing me to live another day.
"be" verb + preposition
For us, the military isn't about killing or invading other countries; it's about serving our country.

In Our Next Lesson...

In our next lesson, we explore the pattern ADJECTIVE + INFINITIVE PHRASE.

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