25 Preposition Mistakes Every English Learner Should Avoid
- Alex
- 3 hours ago
- 9 min read
Level: intermediate (B1/B2)
Prepositions take time to master in any language. For English learners, questions like "Is it in or on?" and "Do I need to use a preposition with this verb?" are quite common. These questions happen because the word combinations and structures that people have in their first language are not always the same as they are in their target language.
This page is meant to help you correct some of the most common preposition mistakes that English learners make. I have heard these mistakes from students all around the world. My goal here is to help English learners everywhere improve their grammatical accuracy so that they can speak more confidently with English speakers in their personal and professional lives.
If you find this page useful, you might also enjoy my post about the Top 10 Preposition Mistakes that English learners make. This page repeats a couple of the mistakes in that post, but over 90% of the material is new.
So, are you ready to fix your preposition mistakes and improve your English skills? Let's go!
25 Preposition Mistakes Every English Learner Should Avoid
go home
Correct: I went home.
Incorrect: I went to home.
In this context, home is an adverb of place similar to here, there, upstairs, or downtown. Just say "I went home." The verbs go and come are very common before home. For example, "I usually come home at 6 o'clock." You can say "I went to my home" if you want to use home as a noun, but this sounds formal and a little unnatural. If you really want to emphasize whose home you visited, it is more common to use the word house (or apartment or condo). For example, "We visited my sister's house."
be at home / be home
Correct: He's not at home. / He's not home.
Incorrect: He's not in home.
At is used for specific points. This is true for both, times and places. For example, "I woke up at six o'clock." In regard to places, use at when you want to mention someone's location. For example, "My dad is at the bank," "Are you at the store?" and of course, "He's not at home." Remember, home can also be an adverb, so you can also say "He's not home."
explain [something] to [someone]
Correct: Can you explain [it/this/that] to me?
Incorrect: Can you explain me?
Explain needs a direct object—the thing that is explained. If you mention the person who received the explanation, you must use explain to. For example, "He explained the decision to everyone." If you start a sentence with "He explained to me," you must follow it with a that clause or a wh- clause. For example, "She explained to us that the project wasn't ready" or "My brother explained to me how everything worked." Do not say "Can you explain to me this word?" It is grammatical, but it sounds awkward and unnatural. The correct, common form in this case is "Can you explain this word to me?" Therefore, the most natural and common construction is subject + explain + the thing that is explained + (to + the person who received the explanation).
wait for
Correct: I'm waiting for the bus.
Incorrect: I'm waiting the bus.
Wait is a prepositional verb. If you want to use an object after it, you must add the preposition for. For instance, "Please wait for me" or "I will wait for you at the bus station." You can also just say wait by itself if you don't use a direct object, as in "Please wait."
Another common mistake with wait is "Can you wait me five minutes?" The correct sentence is "Can you wait five minutes for me?", "Can you wait for me for five minutes?", or just "Can you wait five minutes?"
go to [a place]
Correct: They went to Brazil.
Incorrect: They went in Brazil.
When you are discussing travelling from one place to another, use go to. For example, "We're going to the mountains this weekend" or "She went to the library." You can be in a place ("I'm in London") or live in a place ("She lives in Bangladesh"), but you can't go in a place if you are talking about travelling.
arrive at [a place]
Correct: I arrived at the airport.
Incorrect: I arrived to the airport.
You go to a place, but you arrive at a place. That's it. Well, except for the next example...
arrive in [a country, city, or other region]
Correct: We will arrive in France at 6 o'clock.
Correct: We will arrive to France at 6 o'clock.
When you take a vacation or any kind of trip to a country, city, or region, you arrive in that country, city, or region. What you should learn from the past two examples is that you should not say arrive to when you are talking about travelling. Here is one more correct example: "They arrived in Chicago at 10 p.m. last night."
worry about / be worried about
Correct: I'm worried about the test.
Incorrect: I'm worried for the test.
Use worry about (verb + preposition) or worried about (adjective + preposition) when you are concerned or anxious about a situation, person, or problem. This is the most common choice. For example, "I'm worried about you." You can worry for a person, but this sounds more emotionally intense and is more often used in literature. In 90% of cases, just use worry about.
on [specific days and dates on the calendar]
Correct: See you on Monday.
Incorrect: See you in Monday.
Use on for individual days and dates on a calendar. For example, on Monday, on May sixth, on my birthday, or on Valentine's Day.
this weekend
Correct: See you this weekend!
Incorrect: See you on this weekend!
The word this already specifies which weekend you are talking about, so you do not need to add on. If you want to use on, you can use it in a sentence like "See you on the weekend." Finally, it is possible to say "on this weekend" in a dramatic and poetic sentence, such as "What are you doing on this lovely weekend?" but in this case, it is already the weekend, and this is not how most people speak. Just say, "What are you doing this weekend?"
next week / last week
Correct: See you next week. / I saw him last week.
Incorrect: See you in next week. / I saw him in last week.
Next and last already specify which week you are talking about. You don't need to add another preposition before these words. Here are two more examples: "Let's have coffee next week." "Did you do anything special last week?"
be interested in
Correct: She's interested in acting.
Incorrect: She's interested about acting.
You can be curious about something, but you have to be interested in something. For example, "What kind of music are you interested in?" or "He's not interested in Joanna. He's interested in Carmen."
discuss / talk about
Correct: Can we discuss that tomorrow?
Incorrect: Can we discuss about that tomorrow?
This is a natural mistake because you can talk about something , but when you use the verb discuss, it does not need a preposition. Just use discuss plus the object of discussion. For example, "I want to discuss your performance evaluation." Finally, you discuss things with other people. For example, "I discussed the issue with my wife."
look for
Correct: I'm looking for my phone. Have you seen it?
Incorrect: I'm looking my phone. Have you seen it?
If you are trying to find something, you are looking for it. Look is a prepositional verb. It needs the preposition for if you want to mention the object you are trying to find.
compared to / compare to
Correct: Compared to him, you're great!
Incorrect: Comparing to him, you're great!
You compare someone or something to someone or something else. For example, "Compared to her brother, she's a giant." You can say compared with as well, but compared to is more common. There are some formal cases where comparing with is possible, but these cases are not used often, so just become comfortable saying compared to.
be responsible for
Correct: I'm responsible for this.
Incorrect: I'm responsible of this.
If you want to mention whose responsibility something is, or who was the cause of a particular result, use responsible for. For example, "He's responsible for twelve employees" or "She was responsible for the team's success."
be sorry to hear [something]
Correct: I'm sorry to hear that.
Incorrect: I'm sorry for hear that.
Use to before a bare infinitive verb. This is especially true when you follow an adjective with a verb. For example, "It's nice to meet you," "It's great to be here today," and "We are ready to begin."
be sorry / sorry to hear [something]
Correct: I'm sorry. / I'm sorry to hear that.
Incorrect: I'm sorry for you.
"I'm sorry for you" is grammatical but it means that you pity someone and feel like you are above them. To show sympathy for someone, it is more common to say "I'm sorry to hear that" or just "I'm sorry."
think about / think of
Correct: I'm thinking of changing my job. / I'm thinking about changing my job.
Incorrect: I'm thinking to change my job.
If you are considering an option, you are thinking about it or thinking of it. If you say you are thinking to do something, this means you are thinking in order to accomplish a specific goal. This is almost never the intended meaning of the speaker and it does not sound natural.
smile at / look at / laugh at / wink at ... [someone or something]
Correct: smile at / look at / laugh at / wink at ... [someone or something]
Incorrect: smile on / look on / laugh on / wink on
If you direct your attention towards someone or something, either with a smile, a look, a laugh, or a wink, use at because the person or thing is the end point of your attention. You can smile at someone. You can laugh at a joke. You can look at your phone. You can wink at someone to share a secret message with them. Just make sure you use at with all of these verbs.
be jealous of
Correct: He's jealous of his brother.
Incorrect: He's jealous for his brother.
If you wish you had what someone else has, you are jealous of them. For example, "Don't be jealous of her" or "I'm jealous of your shoes!"
be afraid of / be scared of
Correct: He's afraid of the dark. / He's scared of the dark.
Incorrect: He's afraid about the dark. / He's scared about the dark.
If you want to talk about fear, use afraid of and scared of. For example, "I'm scared of heights" or "My grandma was afraid of spiders."
say [something] to [someone] / tell someone something
Correct: What did he say to you? / What did he tell you?
Incorrect: What did he say you?
In English, you can say something or you can say something to someone. Most of the time, when an English learner uses say, they really want to use tell. For example, "He told me to arrive before nine o'clock." In this case, you can also say, "He said to arrive at nine o'clock." The longer answer with say to is "He said to me that I should arrive at nine o'clock," but this sounds a little too formal. Learning the difference between say and tell is important, especially at the intermediate level. Above all, NEVER say, "He said me." It is 100% wrong.
congratulations to [someone]
Correct: Congratulations to your parents!
Incorrect: Congratulations for your parents!
If you want to say "congratulations," you say it to someone. This is similar to saying something to someone. Here is one more example to show this usage: "Congratulations to your sister! I heard she had her baby!"
congratulations on [something]
Correct: Congratulations on your new house!
Incorrect: Congratulations for your new house!
If you want to congratulate someone about something specific, use on. For example, you can say, "Congratulations on your retirement," "Congratulations on your promotion," or "Congratulations on your new book!"
And now, I would like to say "Congratulations on reading this entire list of English phrases!" I hope you feel more confident about your use of English prepositions after studying the examples and explanations on this page. Well done! It takes time to learn how to use prepositions well consistently, but it is one-hundred percent possible. Just keep learning and keep practicing.
If you would like to support my work, please consider getting one of my books. They are available in PDF, e-book, and paperback formats. They are all written with English learners (and teachers!) in mind. I hope you enjoy them!
Until next time, I wish you success on your English learning journey. Good luck and thank you for learning English with me.