Muchos verbos, adjetivos y sustantivos van casados con una preposición fija: depend on, good at, afraid of. No hay regla lógica: la preposición es parte de la palabra y se aprende junta. El problema para nosotros es que en español la preposición suele ser otra (depender de → depend on), así que el calco es el enemigo número uno.
Verbos + preposición
| Palabra | Prep. | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| depend | on | It depends on the weather. |
| rely / count | on | You can rely on me. |
| listen | to | Listen to this song. |
| belong | to | This belongs to Sara. |
| wait | for | I'm waiting for the bus. |
| look | for | She is looking for a job. |
| look | after | He looks after his sister. |
| apologise | for | Apologise for being late. |
| agree | with | I agree with you. |
| think | about / of | What are you thinking about? |
| believe | in | Do you believe in luck? |
| succeed | in | She succeeded in passing. |
Adjetivos + preposición
| Palabra | Prep. | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| good / bad | at | She is good at maths. |
| interested | in | I'm interested in art. |
| afraid / scared | of | He is afraid of dogs. |
| proud | of | Proud of my team. |
| worried | about | Worried about the exam. |
| famous | for | Famous for its beaches. |
| married | to | She is married to Tom. |
| different | from | Mine is different from yours. |
| keen | on | I'm keen on cycling. |
| responsible | for | Responsible for the team. |
Los errores típicos del hispanohablante
Cuidado con los calcos: depend on (no of), married to (no with), think about/of (no in), arrive at/in (no to), consist of (no in).
Algunos verbos NO llevan preposición aunque en español sí: attend the meeting, phone me, discuss it (no attend to / phone to / discuss about).