Interested In, Good At, Depend On: Preposition Mistakes
The adjective + preposition and verb + preposition pairs learners get wrong most often, grouped so they're easier to remember.
Prepositions rarely follow logic. Interested in, good at, afraid of: you just have to learn the pairs. The good news is that a small number of combinations cause most of the mistakes.
Adjective + preposition
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| interested about | interested in |
| good in maths | good at maths |
| afraid from | afraid of |
| different than (BrE essays) | different from |
| married with | married to |
| responsible of | responsible for |
| famous with | famous for |
| angry to someone | angry with someone |
Verb + preposition
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| depend of | depend on |
| listen music | listen to music |
| wait the bus | wait for the bus |
| arrive to the airport | arrive at the airport / arrive in London |
| look the picture | look at the picture |
| pay the bill for | pay for the meal |
Time prepositions: at, on, in
- at + times: at 7 o'clock, at the weekend (BrE), at night
- on + days and dates: on Monday, on 5th May, on my birthday
- in + months, years, seasons, parts of the day: in July, in 2026, in winter, in the morning
I was born at 2012. See you in Monday.
I was born in 2012. See you on Monday.
How to learn them
- Learn the word with its preposition: write interested in, not just interested.
- Keep a list of the pairs you get wrong in your error log.
- When you edit, check every preposition after an adjective or verb you've marked before.
Quick test
Fill in: I'm good ___ drawing but I'm afraid ___ heights. It depends ___ the weather. (Answers: at, of, on.)
Quick practice
Fill in the gaps, then check.
- I'm interested photography.
- She is good maths.
- It depends the weather.
- We arrived Istanbul at midnight.
- I'm afraid spiders.