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B2 FIRST · GRAMMAR · PART 2

Prepositions and particles

Prepositions after adjectives, verbs and nouns, fixed phrases, and the small words in phrasal verbs.

Finn the puffin with glasses and a book, your grammar teacher
Finn says

In Part 2, prepositions usually belong to a fixed expression: interested in, depend on, on purpose. You can't guess them – you learn them. Here are the ones that appear most often.

Words + prepositions

Adjective + preposition
interested in, good at, afraid of, famous for, similar to, different from
Paris is famous for its museums.
Verb + preposition
depend on, rely on, belong to, apply for, suffer from, take part in
It depends on the weather.
Noun + preposition
a reason for, an increase in, a solution to, the advantage of
There was an increase in prices.

Fixed phrases

in
in fact, in general, in time, in advance, in the end
In fact, it was easy.
on
on purpose, on time, on average, on the other hand
She broke it on purpose.
at / by / out of
at least, at first, by chance, by mistake, out of date
We met by chance.

Particles in phrasal verbs

The small word after the verb is often the answer.

up
give up, set up, take up, end up, come up with
We ended up staying at home.
out / off
find out, run out of, carry out, turn off, set off
Scientists carried out an experiment.
over / down / away
take over, get over, cut down on, give away
She's still getting over the flu.

How it comes up in Part 2

In Part 2 you write one word in each gap. No word is given, so you need to know the grammar.

The price of the tickets depends on the day of the week.

Depend on.

Scientists have come up with a new solution.

Come up with = think of an idea.

The train arrived exactly on time.

On time = at the planned time.

Common mistakes

  • ✗ I'm interested on history.✓ I'm interested in history.Interested in.
  • ✗ It depends of the weather.✓ It depends on the weather.Depend on.
  • ✗ We arrived to the hotel late.✓ We arrived at the hotel late.Arrive at (a building) or in (a city).
Finn the puffin, smiling kindly
Finn's exam tip

When the gap comes straight after an adjective, verb or noun, think of the preposition that goes with it. When it comes after a verb and the meaning seems strange, it's probably a phrasal verb – try up, out, off or over.

Quick check

Write one word in each gap.

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