Can someone check if the following prepositions/verbs are correct?
Thanks
1) I couldn’t help CRYING
2) It’s no use EXPLAINING it to him; he won’t understand.
3) He was seen TO the watch.
4) I can’t afford TO BUY it.
5) Norma is anxious ABOUT making the presentation.
6) Nancy was concerned ABOUT being late.
7) They are opposed TO building a new road in the park.
8) Pete was really nervous ABOUT going to a new school.
9) There’s no question he’s angry ABOUT being in jail.
10) I was amazed AT all the improvements.
11) I was so angry WITH him FOR behaving like that in front of everyone.
12) He was surprised AT the question.
13) I’m rather disappointed WITH my new computer.
14) I was deeply shocked BY Joe’s death.
15) The teacher was annoyed WITH me FOR forgetting to phone.
16) He is independent ON his mother. He’s still nervous ABOUT losing his job.
All are right except for 3 and 16.
To check if the prepositions/verbs in the sentences are correct, we can follow these steps:
1) Determine the verb in the sentence and the corresponding preposition.
2) Check if the preposition correctly matches the verb and conveys the intended meaning.
3) Evaluate if the sentence structure and usage of prepositions sound natural in context.
1) "I couldn't help CRYING."
- Verb: help / Preposition: none
- The verb "help" can be followed by the base form of the verb without a preposition. So, "crying" is correct in this sentence.
2) "It’s no use EXPLAINING it to him; he won’t understand."
- Verb: use / Preposition: no
- The phrase "no use" is commonly used to express that something is pointless or ineffective. Therefore, "explaining" after "no use" is correct.
3) "He was seen TO the watch."
- Verb: seen / Preposition: none
- In this case, the verb "seen" should be followed by the preposition "with," not "to." So, the correct sentence should be: "He was seen with the watch."
4) "I can’t afford TO BUY it."
- Verb: afford / Preposition: none
- The verb "afford" is not followed by a preposition, so "to buy" is correct in this sentence.
5) "Norma is anxious ABOUT making the presentation."
- Verb: anxious / Preposition: about
- The preposition "about" correctly conveys the idea of being worried or concerned about something. Therefore, "about making" is correct in this sentence.
6) "Nancy was concerned ABOUT being late."
- Verb: concerned / Preposition: about
- The preposition "about" is appropriate here to indicate what Nancy is concerned about. So, "about being" is correct in this sentence.
7) "They are opposed TO building a new road in the park."
- Verb: opposed / Preposition: to
- The preposition "to" correctly follows the verb "opposed" to indicate what they are opposed to. So, "to building" is correct in this sentence.
8) "Pete was really nervous ABOUT going to a new school."
- Verb: nervous / Preposition: about
- The preposition "about" correctly conveys Pete's state of worry or anxiety about going to a new school. So, "about going" is correct in this sentence.
9) "There’s no question he’s angry ABOUT being in jail."
- Verb: angry / Preposition: about
- The preposition "about" conveys the reason for being angry, so "about being" is correct in this sentence.
10) "I was amazed AT all the improvements."
- Verb: amazed / Preposition: at
- The preposition "at" indicates the point of astonishment, so "at all" is correct in this sentence.
11) "I was so angry WITH him FOR behaving like that in front of everyone."
- Verb: angry / Preposition: with / Preposition: for
- The preposition "with" represents the target of anger, while the preposition "for" conveys the reason for anger. So, "with him" and "for behaving" are correct in this sentence.
12) "He was surprised AT the question."
- Verb: surprised / Preposition: at
- The preposition "at" correctly indicates the source of surprise. So, "at the question" is correct in this sentence.
13) "I'm rather disappointed WITH my new computer."
- Verb: disappointed / Preposition: with
- The preposition "with" accurately conveys the feeling of dissatisfaction. So, "with my new computer" is correct in this sentence.
14) "I was deeply shocked BY Joe's death."
- Verb: shocked / Preposition: by
- The preposition "by" correctly represents the cause of shock. So, "by Joe's death" is correct in this sentence.
15) "The teacher was annoyed WITH me FOR forgetting to phone."
- Verb: annoyed / Preposition: with / Preposition: for
- The preposition "with" represents the target of annoyance, while the preposition "for" conveys the reason for annoyance. So, "with me" and "for forgetting" are correct in this sentence.
16) "He is independent ON his mother. He's still nervous ABOUT losing his job."
- Verb: independent / Preposition: on / Verb: nervous / Preposition: about
- The preposition "on" does not correctly follow the verb "independent" in this sentence. It should be "of" instead. So, the correct sentence is: "He is independent of his mother. He's still nervous about losing his job."
So, after going through each sentence, we found that sentence 3 needs to be corrected, and sentence 16 needs revision.