Gerund after prepositions in English

This chapter will explain when a gerund must follow a preposition. This depends on the verb or on the previous word.

Lesson outline

1.Prepositions which require the gerund (-ing form)
2.Phrasal verbs followed by gerunds
3.Exercises
3.1.Exercise to fill in the correct preposition and gerund in English.
3.2.Practice the prepositions and gerunds in English

Prepositions which require the gerund (-ing form)

The following table shows the verbs with prepositions and expressions that should be followed by gerunds.

Verbs with prepositions / expressions	Example
Accused of	She is accused of smuggling.
Advantage of	The advantage of living alone is that you can do what you like.
Alternative to	Running is an alternative to swimming.
Afraid of	I am afraid of being in an accident.
Approve of	She doesn't approve of watching television all day.
Attempt at	My attempt at riding a bike has been successful.
Bad at	I am bad at writing letters.
Chance of	What is the chance of knowing each others cousins?
Committed to	The team is committed to winning the game.
Crazy about	She is crazy about living in Amsterdam.
Concentrate on	He is concentrating on finishing his homework.
Consist of	It consists of working hard.
Danger of	Danger of drowning.
Decide against	We will decide against using animals for testing make up.
Difficulty in	She had difficulty in finding a house in Amsterdam.
Doubt about	There is some doubt about going to the beach today.
Dream of	I dream of working at a magazine when I have graduated.
Excited about	They are excited about going on holiday next week.
Experience in	She has a lot of experience in baking cakes.
Famous for	She got famous for singing the national anthem.
Fed up with	I am fed up with listening to him.
Give an explanation for	Can you give an explanation for being late?
Glad about	I am glad about finishing high school.
Have no intention of	She has no intention of getting to know him.
Improve by	She improved her Spanish by reading the newspaper.
Insist on	He insisted on helping his grandmother.
Instead of	She likes watching television instead of reading a book.
Interested in	He is interested in playing tennis.
Keep on	She keeps on talking to him.
Have an objection to	I have an objection to that claim.
Make an apology for	I made an apology for him behaving badly.
Objection to	They had an objection to having her here.
Offer an apology for	She offered me an apology for being late.
Possibility of	There is a possibility of winning the championship.
Proud of	I am proud of completing the exercises before the end of the class.
Reason for	There is a reason for being late.
Succeed in	She succeeded in winning the game.
Talk about	They talked about selling their house.
Think of / Think about	They are thinking of selling their house.
Tired of	She is tired of hearing that.
Way of	I love her way of singing.
Worried about	I was worried about arriving late at the airport.

Have a question?

Take online language lessons with a professional teacher

Native & verified teachers
Free trial lesson
Learning materials included

Emanuela T.

Ryan B.

Tshidi J.

Imelda B.

Angélica R.

Imraan R.

Pedro Eduardo G.

Beatriz C.

Kalaiselvi P.

Alessia T.

Sign up for free

Phrasal verbs followed by gerunds

Phrasal verbs	Example
Be fond of	He is fond of going to parties.
Be worth	It's worth mentioning.
Feel like	She feels like walking home.
Get around to	He did not get around to fixing the television.
Give up	I must give up smoking.
Keen on	I am keen on eating candy.
Plan on	She plans on travelling to the South America
Put off	They put off discussing the question.

Gerund after prepositions in English

Lesson outline

Prepositions which require the gerund (-ing form)