Dependent Prepositions — B1 Vocabulary

B1 - dependent prepositions

The Speech

PICTURE

(you add this)

"He once broke his arm playing chess. I still don't fully understand it, and I was there."

Verb + preposition · adjective + preposition · gerund after a preposition

Reading

Speaking

LEAD-IN

The best man's speech

At weddings, the best man or maid of honour gives a speech about the groom or bride.

1. What makes these speeches wonderful?

2. What makes them a disaster?

3. Have you ever heard a truly terrible one?

PICTURE

(you add this)

VOCABULARY · B1

Sort these into the correct preposition group.

afraid ____ · proud ____ · worried ____ · excited ____ · rude ____ · married ____ · fond ____ · dream ____ · kind ____ · tired ____ · belong ____ · apologize ____ (+ person)

OF

ABOUT

TO

VOCABULARY · B2

Now the trickier ones — complete with the correct preposition.

1. good ________ (skills) vs good ________ (health):

She's good ____ chess. Vegetables are good ____ you.

2. angry ________ a person · angry ________ a situation

3. argue ________ a person · argue ________ a topic

4. arrive ________ a city or country · arrive ________ a building, airport or station

5. different ________ · interested ________ · keen ________ · famous ________ · fed up ________ · depend ________

BEFORE YOU READ

Twenty-five years of friendship

Oskar has been best friends with Teo since they were nine. Tonight he has a microphone.

READ ONCE AND ANSWER

PICTURE

1. What embarrassing stories does Oskar tell?

2. What serious point does he build to at the end?

(you add this)

READING

The best man's speech

Good evening, everyone. For those who don't know me, I'm Oskar, and I've been best friends with Teo since we were nine — which means I'm responsible for him this evening, and I'd like to apologize in advance to the hotel for that.

Teo. Where do I start? At school, this man was famous for two things: being brilliant at maths and being terrible at absolutely everything involving his own body. He once broke his arm playing chess. I still don't fully understand it, and I was there.

He's always been afraid of exactly three things: spiders, dancing in public, and asking for help. You'll see him fight all three tonight, possibly at the same time. But he's never been afraid of hard work — and if you've ever argued with him about films, football or the correct way to load a dishwasher, you'll know he's never been afraid of being wrong, either. Loudly, confidently wrong.

Now, Mei. Mei, we are all so fond of you, and honestly, still a little surprised by you. When Teo told me he'd met someone who was interested in his rock collection — genuinely interested, asking questions — I told him to marry you immediately. It took him four years, because, as we've established, he's afraid of asking for anything.

I'll be serious for thirty seconds. Teo, I'm proud of you. I've watched you grow from a boy who laughed at every serious moment into a man I depend on — the person I called first when my dad was ill, the person who drove four hours without being asked. And Mei — he talks about you when you're not there. Constantly. We're all quite tired of it, actually. Don't ever stop being the thing he can't stop talking about.

So — please stand, raise your glasses, and get ready for the moment Teo has been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure: the dancing. To Teo and Mei — may you always be kind to each other, may you never argue about the dishwasher, and may you always be as happy as you are tonight. To the bride and groom!

COMPREHENSION

Complete from memory, then check.

1. Oskar apologizes in advance to ____________ .

2. At school Teo was famous for ____________ and ____________ .

3. Teo is afraid of three things: ____________ , ____________ and ____________ .

4. Mei surprised everyone by being genuinely interested in ____________ .

5. Oskar knew he could depend on Teo when ____________ .

6. The couple should never argue about ____________ .

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Guided discovery.

1. Highlight every verb + preposition and adjective + preposition in the speech — there are at least fifteen. Compare with a partner: who found more?

2. Look at "looking forward to", "afraid of asking", "tired of being wrong". When a verb follows a preposition, what form is it? Complete: preposition + verb-________ .

3. Two prepositions change with the object: angry with my brother vs angry about the decision; argue with someone vs argue about something. Which preposition goes with the person?

4. Careful: look forward to ends in to — but that to is a preposition, not an infinitive. So: I look forward to seeing you, NOT to see.

PRACTICE · F1

Complete with the correct preposition.

1. She apologized ________ the waiter ________ her friend's behaviour.

2. We arrived ________ Lisbon at midnight and arrived ________ the hotel at one.

3. Who does this jacket belong ________ ?

4. Stop laughing ________ me — I'm doing my best!

5. It depends ________ the weather. Everything here depends ________ the weather.

6. This song reminds me ________ our first holiday.

7. I'm really looking forward ________ the party. Honestly. Really.

8. He never argues ________ his mother ________ politics. He's not brave enough.

PRACTICE · F2 & F3

Preposition + the correct verb form

I'm fed up ________ (listen) to the neighbours' dog.

She's very good ________ (remember) names.

He's worried ________ (lose) his job.

We're really excited ________ (come).

I'm tired ________ (wait). Let's go.

You can't be afraid ________ (make) mistakes in a language class.

PRACTICE · F2 & F3

Correct the mistakes.

Correct the mistakes:

I'm very proud for my daughter.

She's married with a dentist.

My town is famous of its bridge.

It was very kind from you to help.

I look forward to see you next week.

Are you interested about history?

SPEAKING

Your speech

Choose someone you genuinely like — a friend, a sibling, a colleague, a pet. Give a one-minute mini-speech about them.

• You must include: proud of, famous for, afraid of, good at, look forward to — plus one more of your choice.

• The class listens for the prepositions.

• Anyone who catches an error gets to (kindly) ring an imaginary bell.

PICTURE

(you add this)

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

B1 of: afraid, proud, fond, tired · about: worried, excited, dream · to: rude, married, kind, belong, apologize (+ person). (Dream of and dream about both exist; the lesson standard is about.)

B2 1 at / for · 2 with / about · 3 with / about · 4 in / at · 5 different from · interested in · keen on · famous for · fed up with · depend on

GIST Stories: the arm broken while playing chess; the fear of spiders, dancing and asking for help; the four years it took to propose. Serious point: Teo became a man Oskar can depend on — the one who came when his father was ill.

COMPREHENSION 1 the hotel · 2 being brilliant at maths / being terrible at everything physical · 3 spiders, dancing in public, asking for help · 4 his rock collection · 5 his dad was ill and Teo drove four hours unasked · 6 the dishwasher

LANGUAGE FOCUS 2 The gerund (-ing). 3 with + person, about + topic. 4 Correct: look forward to + -ing.

F1 1 to / for · 2 in / at · 3 to · 4 at · 5 on / on · 6 of · 7 to · 8 with / about

F2 1 with listening / at remembering · 2 about losing / about coming · 3 of waiting / of making

F3 1 proud of · 2 married to · 3 famous for · 4 kind of you · 5 look forward to seeing · 6 interested in

HOMEWORK Write your one-minute speech out in full (100–130 words), underlining every dependent preposition. Minimum ten.