These guidelines are not rigid. Winston Churchill once remarked. “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”
Obviously, there will be exceptions to the rule, particularly when prepositions are used with verbs. In the quote above, the verb-preposition form is to put up with. In writing, however, it is best to recast the sentence to read “I will not put up with this sort of English.”
Prepositions are used with verbs to change the meaning slightly or to distinguish between people and objects.
1. Accompany by and Accompany with
Example:
- The president was accompanied by his wife. (accompany by is used with a person)
- The president was accompanied with a postage-due notice. (accompany by is used with an object)
2. Agree with and Agree to
Agree with—occur in opinion. (agree with a person)
Agree to—give assent. (agree to an idea or thing)
Example:
- I agree with Carl that we should operate tomorrow.
- I agree to an operation for my ulcer.
3) Answer to and Answer for
Answer to—be accountable to a person; respond to
Answer for—be accountable for actions
Example:
- You’ll have to answer to the commission for your sales record. He’s 4 years old and answers to the name “Fred.”
- You’ll have to answer for you decision to abort the mission.
4) Belong to and Belong with
Belong to—be a member of
Belong with—be classified or placed among
Example:
- They belong to the Secret Order of the Koala.
- These flowers belong with the plants classified as grasses.
5) Compare to and Compare with
Compare to—liken
Compare with—contrast for similarities and differences
Example:
- She compared my singing to a summer’s day?
- He compared the Russian military strength with the
6) Concur in and Concur with
Concur in—agree (in an opinion)
Concur with—agree (with another person)
Example:
- The three judges concurred in their settlement of the case.
- I must concur with Jim that the settlement is fair.
7) Connect to and Connect with
Connect to—join (one object to another)
Connect with—make contact with (a person, group, idea)
Example:
- The first step is to connect the positive wire to the positive pole.
- If we drive overnight, we can connect with the first group by dawn.
8) Correspond to and Correspond with
Correspond to—match
Correspond with—exchange messages
Example:
- The handwriting on this letter corresponds to the handwriting on the earlier document.
- Janet has corresponded with a friend in
9) Differ from and Differ with
Differ from—be unlike
Differ with—disagree with
Example:
- The movie differed from the book in several ways.
- The figures in the government report differ with those in our study.
10) Promote and Promote to
Promote (with title, no preposition)—to increase in rank or status
Promote to—to raise to a higher rank or status
Example:
- She was promoted Lieutenant Commander.
- She was promoted to executive level for her work in computer sales.
11) Wait for, Wait on, and Wait out
Wait for—to be ready or at hand for
Wait on—to serve
Wait out—colloquial expression meaning to remain inactive during the course of
Example:
- The general waited for the signal to attack.
- When my father was in school, he earned money waiting on tables.
- The fans waited out the rainstorm by taking shelter under the bleachers.
