Page 136 - English Grammar in Use

Unit Verb + preposition + -ing
62 (succeed in -ing / insist on -ing etc.)

A We use some verbs + preposition + object. For example:
verb + preposition + object
We talked about the problem.
I apologised for what I said.
If the object is another verb, we use -ing:
verb + preposition + -ing
We talked about going to South America.
You should apologise for not telling the truth.

You can use these verbs in the same way:
approve of He doesn’t approve of swearing.
decide against We have decided against moving to London.
dream of I wouldn’t dream of asking them for money.
feel like I don’t feel like going out tonight.
insist on They insisted on paying for the meal.
look forward to Are you looking forward to going away?
succeed in Has Paul succeeded in finding a job yet?
think of/about I’m thinking of/about buying a house.

You can also say ‘approve of somebody doing something’, ‘look forward to somebody doing
something’ etc. :
I don’t approve of people killing animals as a sport.
We are all looking forward to Andy coming home next week.

B Some verbs can have the structure verb + object + preposition + -ing.
For example:
verb + object + preposition + -ing
accuse … of He accused me of telling lies.
congratulate … on We congratulated Lisa on winning the first prize.
prevent … from What prevented you from coming to see us?
stop … from The rain didn’t stop us from enjoying our holiday.
suspect … of Nobody suspected the general of being a spy.
thank … for I thanked everyone for helping me.

You can say ‘stop somebody doing’ or ‘stop somebody from doing’:
You can’t stop me doing what I want. or You can’t stop me from doing …
Note this example with not -ing:
He accused me of not telling the truth.
Some of these verbs are often used in the passive. For example:
We were accused of telling lies. (or … accused of lying.)
The general was suspected of being a spy.
Note that we say ‘apologise to somebody for …’ :
I apologised to them for keeping them waiting. (not I apologised them)

124 decide to … ➜ Unit 54A Preposition + -ing ➜ Unit 60 Verb + preposition ➜ Units 132–136