Words and expressions frequently appear on TOEIC
- Nouns + preposition
| Cause of | The cause of fire was carelessness |
| Combination of | A combination of high interest rates and falling demands forced the company to close. |
| Demand for | The management has refused to agree to our demand for 7% pay raise. |
| Development in | People are happy with development in medicine. |
| Effect of | One of the effects of illness is that you lose your hair. |
| Example of | This church is a wonderful example of medieval architecture. |
| Exception to | We don’t usually do it this way, but we’ll make an exception to the rule in your case. |
| Idea for | What gave you the idea for the book? |
| Improvement in | There has been a significant improvement in the company’s trading position. |
| Increase in | An increase in crime was one of the most serious problems that city had. |
| Native of | He is a native of California. |
| Part in | The question of cost will play an important part in our decision. |
| Price of | What is the price of this suit? |
| Probability of | There’s very little probability of an agreement being reached. |
| Problem with | The company had no problems with management. |
| Process of | Coal was formed out of dead forest by a long, slow process of chemical change. |
| Reliance on | I have complete reliance on his judgment. |
| Result of | His sickness is the result of the contaminated food. |
| Rules for | There are rules for driving. |
| Rules of (a game) | To enjoy golfing, you need to understand the rules of golf. |
| Solution to | There are no simple solutions to the unemployment problem. |
| Source of | We’ll need to find a new source of income. |
| A supply of | Bring a large supply of food for you |
| A variety of | The shirt is available in a variety of colors. |
- Adjective / Adverbs + preposition
| Afraid of | I’ve always afraid of flying. |
| Angry at s.th | They were angry at the way they had been treated. |
| Angry with s.one | I was (got) angry with her. |
| Attached to | The children are very attached to grandparents. |
| Based on | He wrote a novel based on face. |
| Capable of | A force 10 wind is capable of blowing the roofs off house. |
| Close to | She was very close to death for a while. |
| Dependent on | It’s very easy to become dependent on sleeping pills. |
| Different from | Emily is completely different from her sister. |
| Disappointed with (by) | I’m disappointed by the way our team played today. |
| Eligible for | You have to employ for six months to be eligible for medical benefits. |
| Essential for (to) | The knowledge of English is essential for this job. |
| Familiar with | I’m not familiar with current research in the field. |
| Free from | Because the organization is a charitable enterprise, it is free from tax worldwide. |
| Free of | My doctor told me I would never be complete free of the disease. |
| Identical to | The tests are identical to those carried out last year. |
| Inferior to | They felt inferior to the others until the team’s international success gave them some pride. |
| Married to | How long have you been married to John? |
| Preferable to | Surely a diplomatic solution is preferable to war. |
| Related to | Experts believe that a large number of cancer causes in the area are related to the new nuclear power station. |
| Responsible for | John is directly responsible for the efficient running of the office. |
| Satisfied with | I am not satisfied with the standard of your work. |
| Similar to | I bought some new shoes which are very similar to a pair I had before. |
| Subject to | Japan is a country subject to earthquakes. |
| Suitable for | The movie is rate R and is not suitable for children. |
| Superior to | Manufacturing companies send millions of dollars trying to convince customer that their products are superior to those of other companies. |
| Surprised at (by) | We were very surprised at the result. He seemed surprised by the question. |
- Verb + preposition
| Account for = Explain | The army made no attempt to account for missing men. |
| Accustom oneself to | It’ll take time for me to accustom myself to change. |
| Agree to (a plan) | Both sides in the conflict have agreed to the terms of the peace treaty. |
| Approve of | I thoroughly approve of what the management is doing. |
| Arrive at | It was dark by the time we arrived at the station. |
| Arrive in | Early humans first arrived in the area over 25,000 year ago. |
| Begin with | The word “cat” begins with the letter “c”. |
| Believe in | I believe in the fundamental goodness of human nature. |
| Caution against | The writer cautioned the newspaper’s readers against buying (= warned them not to buy) shares without getting good advice first. |
| Complete with | If a company completes with another, it try to get people to buy its goods or services instead of other companies. |
| Consist of | The team consists of four Americans and two Europeans. |
| Contribute to | Failing sale in American market contributed to the company’s collapse. |
| Cooperate with | He said that he had cooperated with the government in its investigation. |
| Deal with | The second part of this document deals with staff training. |
| Decide on | We’re decided on a beige carpet for the dining room. |
| Decrease by | His salary decreased by 10% because of the recession. |
| Depend on | The cost of your fly depends on what time of year you go. The city’s economy depends largely on the car industry. |
| Divide among (>= 2 people) | I think we should divide (up) the costs equally among us. |
| Divide between (2 people) | Greg divided his energies between running company and playing tennis. |
| Divide into (parts) | After World War II, Germany divided 2 separate countries for more than four decades. |
| Escape from | A lion has escaped from its cage. |
| Interfere with | Even a low level of noise interferes with my concentration. |
| Invest in | The company has invested millions dollars in writing new programs. |
| Participate in | She never participates in any of our discussions, does she? |
| Pay for | How much did you pay for tickets? |
| Plan on | We were planning on just having a snack and catching the early train. |
| Prepare for | Although the crisis seems to be over, we should prepare for a time of trouble. |
| Prohibit from | Motor vehicles are prohibited from driving in the town’s center. |
| Recover from | It took her a long while to recover from her heart operation. |
| Rely on | I rely on you for good advice. |
| Replace A with B | The factory replaced most of its workers with robots. |
| Respond to | The government has responded to public pressure by abolishing a new tax. |
| Result in | The fire resulted in damage to their property. |
| Search for | Scientists are still searching for cure for common cold. |
| Subscribe to | She subscribes to women’s magazines and local newspapers.
|
| Substitute A for B | The company illegally substitutes cheap bolts and screws for more expensive material. |
| Succeed in | The campaign has certainly succeeded in raising public awareness of the issue. |
| Talk about ( a topic) | He spent a lot of time talking about his hobbies. |
| Talk to (an audience) | She talks to her mother on the phone every week. |
| Wait for (s.th or someone) | The dentist kept me waiting for ages. |
| Wait on (a customer) | She waits on shoppers all day at the department store. |
- Others
| Ahead of | I’m on the waiting list for a ticket, but there are ten people ahead of me. |
| Along with | Why don’t you take him along with you when you go? |
| Because of | We had to convention because of the bad weather. |
| By means of | She tried to explain by means of sign language. |
| Due to | The fire was due to a faulty wire in a plug. |
| In charge of | Who will be in charge of the department when Sophie leaves? |
| In favor of | The majority was in favor of the proposal. |
| On spite of | On spite of his (= Although he has an) injury, Ricardo will play in Monday’s match. |
| Instead of | You can have herbal tea instead of coffee if you want. |
| On account of | She is angry on account of what you said about her husband at lunch. |
| Prior to | He had so on sign of being in pain prior to (= before) suffering a heart attack and collapsing. |
| Regardless to | The plant for a new office tower went ahead regardless of local opposition. |
| Thanks to | Thanks to yesterday’s rain, the morning air was fresher than usual. |
| Together with | The bottle of champagne, together with those chocolates, will make a nice present. |
| Access to | The system has been designed to give user quick and easy access to the required information. |
| According to | According to weather forecast, the weather will improve soon. |
| Add to | Have you anything to add to your earlier statement. |
| Advocate for | Dr. Smith has long been practicing pediatrician and an advocate for children’s rights. |
| Ahead of time | Let’s meet for lunch. I’ll call you ahead of time (= in advance) to fix a time and a place. |
| Be aimed at | The government’s campaign is aimed at influencing public opinion. |
| Arrange for | The meeting has arranged for Monday. |
| Aside from | I hardly watch television, aside from news and current affairs. |
| At one’s expense | I treated my friend at my expense. |
| At random | The librarian took a book from the shelf at random. |
| At stake | Thousands of lives will be at stake if emergency aid does not arrive in the city soon. |
| At the rate of | The car was going at the rate of 40 miles an hour. |
| At the rick of | He rescued the dog at the rick of his own life. |
| Attribute A to B | The doctor has attributed the cause of his illness to an unknown virus. |
| Be accustomed to + noun | I’m not accustomed to being treated like this. |
| Become acquitted with (=get to know) | John becomes acquitted with many well-known writers and artists. |
| Be acquitted with | Students who are acquitted with one foreign language tend to find it easier to learn a new one. |
| Be apt to | The kitchen roof is apt to leak when it rains. |
| Be ashamed of | Oliver Twist was not ashamed of asking for more food. |
| Be available to | It is vital that food is made available to the famine areas. |
| Be aware of | Is he aware of the price of shoes like those? (Does he realize that they are very expensive?) |
| Be based on | The film is based on a story by John Smith. |
| Be bound to | It was bound to sooner or later. |
| Be comparable to | A cave is not comparable to a house for comfort. |
| Be concerned about | I’m a bit concerned about your health. |
| Be convicted of | He has twice been convicted of robbery. |
| Be covered with | How much of earth’s surface is covered with water? |
| Be discontented with | The boys are discontented with their present situation. |
| Be eager to | She was very eager to meet you. |
| Be eligible for | Students must pass in all subjects to be eligible for the school team. |
| Be entitled to V/N | The one who wins is entitled to the first prize. |
| Be essential to | The accounting department is essential to the company’s organization. |
| Be experienced in (a field) | John is experienced in repairing cars. |
| Be experienced with something | He is experiences with the new computer. |
| Be faced with | The company is faced with a difficult situation because of the recession. |
| Be famous for | Korea is famous for semiconductors. |
| Be intended for | That gift is intended for you. |
| Be liable to | That glass is liable to break. |
| Be likely to | It is likely to be hot in August. |
| Be noted for | Samson was noted for his strength. |
| Be responsible for | Each pupil is responsible for the care of the books given to him. |
| Be satisfied with | He was satisfied with the test results. |
| Be suspicious of | Sometimes women are overly suspicious of their husbands. |
| Be taken by surprise | That he was taken by surprise is true. |
| Be willing to + verb | I am willing to wait until tomorrow. |
| Beware of | You must beware of swimming in a strong current. |
| Call on someone | We must call on our new neighbors. |
| Call one’s attention to | This is to call your attention to the fact that your account of VN VND 1,000,000,000 is still unpaid. |
| Care for | The nurse will care for him at the hospital. |
| Carry out | He carried out his job well. |
| Come by (= obtain) | He came by the money honestly. |
| Come down with | He came down with the measles. |
| Come in first (twice, third, …) | That horse came in first. |
| Come into effect | The marketing advertisement will come into effect soon. |
| Come to an end | All good things must come to an end. |
| Compared to | Model 123 is the more advances system, compared to model 122. |
| Compensate for | The company always compensates her for her extra work. |
| Comply with | He complied with the doctor’s order to take a rest. |
| Concentrate on | He concentrated on his reading so that he would understand the story. |
| Be contrary to | My sister’s taste in dresses is contrary to my own. |
| Contribute to | Honesty and hard work contributes to success and happiness. |
| Count on | I’m sure that I can count on your cooperation. |
| Deal with | The courts deal with those who break the laws. |
| Decrease in | There has been a decreased in our sales. |
| Demand for | There is a demand for engineers at the company. |
| Deprive A of B | The people deprived the cruel king of his power. |
| Difference between | The only difference between the twins is that Katy weights 5 kg than Rebecca. |
| Dispense with | It’s so warn today that I can dispense with my overcoat. |
| Divide A into B | The business organization can be divided into several different divisions. |
| Do without | A month after accepting the resignation of its corporate planning director, the company found that if will be extremely difficult do without him. |
| Drag on | The seminar drags on and on. |
| Be exposed to | Many people were exposed to danger. |
| Familiarize oneself with | Before playing the new game, familiarize yourself with the rules. |
| Fill in | When you apply for that job, you need to fill in the date of your application. |
| Fill out | Please fill out the application form and send it. |
| Be furnished with | This department is furnished with fine furniture. |
| Get along with | The boss should get along with the employees. |
| Get in touch with | I will get in touch with you wherever I go. |
| Get through with | As soon as I get through with my work, I will join you. |
| Have an effect on | The advertising campaign didn’t have much effect on sales. |
| Have influence on | The climate has a great influence on farming. |
| Hold out | How long can the enemy hold out? |
| In (with) regard to + V_ing | The teacher wish to speak to you in (with) regard to being late. |
| In a row | There are three houses in a row. |
| Be in accordance with | What he did was in accordance with what he said. |
| Be in charge of | Mr. Smith is in charge of Marketing Department. |
| In comparison with | Even a large lake is small in comparison with an ocean. |
| In conclusion | In conclusion, I will say that it was an honor to be the speaker at the meeting. |
| In honor of | The dinner was held in honor of colleague who was leaving. |
| In response to | She laughed in response to his jokes. |
| In support of | He spoke in support of the proposal. |
| In terms of | The book is a big success in terms of the interest it aroused. |
| Inflict on | A knife can inflict a bad wound on a person. |
| Instead of | She watched TV instead of for her final exam. |
| Interfere with | Never allow personal feelings to interfere with your work. |
| Keep track of | The noise makes it difficult for me to keep track of what you said. |
| Leave out (= omit) | She left out to words when she read the sentence. |
| Make up for (= compensate for) | He reserved a direct flight from Las Angeles to Chicago to make up for lost time. |
| Name after | The Hudson River is named after the English explorer Henry Hudson. |
| On behalf of | He worked on behalf of his friend. The lawyer spoke convincingly on behalf of his client. |
| On account of (= because of) | The game was delayed on account of the rain. |
| On the waiting list | He put his name on the waiting list. |
| Out of order | That air conditioner is out of order. |
| Out of print | This magazine is out of print. |
| Participate in (= take part in) | Would you like to participate in our blood drive? |
| Place an emphasis on | The president of the company placed a great emphasis on the marketing campaign. |
| Prior to | I called on him prior to my departure. |
| Put emphasis on | My school puts much emphasis on studies that its students prepare for collage. |
| Put in for | He puts in for a transfer to the Sales Department. |
| Put up with | I couldn’t put up with the boredom. |
| Raise the question | The president raised the question concerning the upcoming merger. |
| Regardless of | Regardless of its location of facilities, a park is intended for the enjoyment of all. |
| Remind A of B | This picture reminds me to a story I heard. |
| Run (take) a risk of | In order to win the war, we had to take a risk of offending neutral nations. |
| Run out of | Mother run out of eggs and had to borrow some from neighbors. |
| Run short | The hunter’s supply of food ran short at the end of the long winter. |
| Set out | They set out on the hike with plenty of water. |
| Set up (establish) | He sold his business and set up a new one. |
| Show off (= display) | Most girls like to show off fine clothes. |
| Show up (= appear) | The golfer showed up one hour late for his match. |
| Sign up for | Did you sign up for the computer class? |
| Specialize in | Many students specialize in engineering. |
| Stand by (= support) | I delivered a speech to stand by the government policy. |
| Stand for (= represent) | The blue birds stand for happiness. |
| Stop by | Mr. Smith stopped by his parent’s house on the way home. |
| Subscribe to | We subscribed to few magazines. |
| Succeed in | She was filled with the aspiration to succeed in a life. |
| Take … for granted | People take the continuation of economic growth for granted. |
| Take advantage of | You shouldn’t take advantage of his generosity. |
| Take into consideration | The judge took the boy’s age into consideration. |
| Take turns + V-ing | They took turns watching the baby. |
| Tend to | Farms tend to use more machinery now. |
| Throughout the day | He worked hard throughout the day. |
| Trial and error | We can learn through trial and error. |
| Turn in (=submit, hand in) | The general manager turned in the finished proposal to the president. |
| Under construction | The factory is under construction. |
| With the exception of | I like all my studies with the exception of economics. |
| Work out | I saw John working out in the gymnasium. |