Guide to Prepositions with Nouns – TOEIC® Preparation

In the English language, many nouns require the use of specific prepositions that precede or follow them to establish a logical link with the rest of the statement.

Among the prepositions most frequently associated with nouns are "of", "on", "for", "with", "to", "about", "in", and "at". The most effective strategy to master these combinations is to memorize structured sets of collocations.

Mastering these noun-preposition associations can truly help you easily score points on the TOEIC® exam day, as this type of question appears very frequently (especially in the Reading section).

1. Formation and Usage Rules

Although there are no absolute universal rules, certain general principles guide the choice of the appropriate preposition:

1. AT / IN / ON: Spatial Prepositions

AT: Used to designate a specific geographical point or a delimited location.
- "The meeting is at headquarters." - La réunion se tient au siège social.
IN: Used for an enclosed space or an extensive geographical area (city, region, country).
- "Our branch is in London." - Notre succursale est à Londres.
ON: Refers to a surface of contact or locations associated with routes or events.
- "Your documents are on the desk." - Vos documents sont sur le bureau.

2. FOR / TO: Prepositions of Purpose or Goal

FOR: Expresses the beneficiary, the reason, or the destination of an action.
- "This proposal is for the client." - Cette proposition est pour le client.
TO: Indicates directional movement or a goal, especially after verbs of motion.
- "He went to the conference." - Il s'est rendu à la conférence.

3. IN / OF: Prepositions Expressing Quantitative Fluctuations

IN / OF: These two prepositions follow a noun to evoke a variation (growth or decrease)
- IN is used generally: "We noticed a drop in sales." - Nous avons constaté une baisse des ventes.
- OF generally introduces a numerical value (percentage, amount): "There was an increase of 20%." - Il y a eu une hausse de 20%.

4. WITH / WITHOUT: Prepositions of Presence or Absence

WITH: Signals accompaniment, the instrument used, or a relationship of association.
- "She arrived with her assistant." - Elle est arrivée avec son assistant.
WITHOUT: Marks the absence or deprivation of an element.
- "He proceeded without authorization." - Il a procédé sans autorisation.

5. ABOUT / OF: Prepositions of Topic or Belonging

ABOUT: Introduces the topic of a conversation, reflection, or feeling.
- "We had a discussion about the budget." - Nous avons eu une discussion sur le budget.
OF: Expresses possession, belonging, or an intrinsic link between two elements.
- "The success of the project." - Le succès du projet.

6. BY / WITH: Instrumental Prepositions

BY: Designates the agent of an action or the mode of transport used.
- "The report was prepared by our team." - Le rapport a été préparé par notre équipe.
- "They commute by train." - Ils se déplacent en train.
WITH: Specifies the instrument or the concrete object used to perform an action.
- "She signed the contract with a pen." - Elle a signé le contrat avec un stylo.

7. FROM / TO: Prepositions of Origin and Direction

FROM: Marks the starting point, provenance, or geographical origin.
- "This shipment comes from Germany." - Cet envoi provient d'Allemagne.
TO: Indicates the final destination or arrival point.
- "The delegation is traveling to Tokyo." - La délégation se rend à Tokyo.

2. Nouns Preceded by a Preposition (List to Memorize)

Complete Expression	French Translation
at a distance	à distance
at a competitive price	à un prix compétitif
at a loss	en situation de perte
at a profit/loss	avec un bénéfice/une perte
at cost price	au prix de revient
at fault	fautif, responsable
at risk	exposé à un risque
at short notice	dans un délai court
at the helm	à la direction
at your convenience	selon votre disponibilité
by accident	accidentellement
by airmail/email	par voie aérienne/courriel
by all means	absolument, par tous les moyens
by car/bus	en voiture/en autobus
by chance	fortuitement
by cheque/credit card	par chèque/carte bancaire
by coincidence	par coïncidence
by hand	manuellement
by law	conformément à la loi
by mistake	par inadvertance
by post	par courrier postal
by the book	selon la procédure
for a change	pour varier
for good	définitivement
for lunch	pour déjeuner
for sale	en vente
for the time being	provisoirement
in a hurry	dans la précipitation
in accordance with	conformément à
in advance	préalablement
in bulk	en grande quantité
in charge of	responsable de
in collaboration with	en partenariat avec
in compliance with	en conformité avec
in debt	endetté
in general	globalement
in light of	au regard de
in my opinion	selon moi
in person	physiquement
in response to	en réaction à
in stock	disponible en inventaire
in the end	finalement
in the loop	informé
in writing	par document écrit
on application	sur requête
on behalf of	au nom de
on business	en déplacement professionnel
on foot	à pied
on hold	en attente
on holiday	en congé
on loan	en prêt
on order	en commande
on purpose	intentionnellement
on sale	en promotion
on the agenda	inscrit à l'ordre du jour
on the market	disponible sur le marché
on the same page	en accord
on the whole	globalement
on time	ponctuellement
out of date	obsolète
out of order	hors service
out of stock	en rupture
out of the blue	de manière imprévue
to my mind	selon mon jugement
under contract	lié par contrat
under control	maîtrisé
under pressure	sous contrainte
under review	en cours d'examen

3. Nouns Followed by a Preposition (List to Memorize)

Complete Expression	French Translation
access to	accès à
advantage of	avantage de
advice on	recommandation sur
alternative to	alternative à
application for	demande pour
attention to	attention portée à
basis for	fondement de/pour
benefit of	avantage de
cause of	origine de
cheque for	chèque de
connection with/to	lien avec/à
cost of	prix de
demand for	demande pour
difference between	distinction entre
effect on	impact sur
example of	illustration de
experience of/in	expérience de/dans
fall in/of	diminution de
increase/decrease in/of	hausse/baisse de
interest in	intérêt pour
invitation to	invitation à
key to	clé de/pour
lack of	absence de
matter with	difficulté avec
need for	nécessité de
opinion of	avis de
order for	commande de
participation in	implication dans
preparation for	préparation en vue de
price of	tarif de
reason for	motif de
reply to	réponse à
request for	requête de
response to	réaction à
rise in/of	croissance de
solution for	solution pour
solution to	résolution à
tax on	imposition sur
trouble with	souci avec
understanding of	compréhension de

Conclusion

Questions concerning prepositions with nouns are ubiquitous in the TOEIC®.

Although learning these lists might seem tedious, the investment is well worth it because you will be able to bank points on the TOEIC® relatively easily.

We are aware that memorizing all these collocations is a challenge; this is precisely why we are developing fun tools designed to facilitate the assimilation of these sets. If you wish to test these features, click the button to access the platform below!

In the meantime, if you are looking for other similar resources, check out these other guides:

How to Choose Between the Gerund (-ing verb) and the Infinitive
Which Preposition to Choose After a Verb in English (Lists to Know) - TOEIC® Preparation
Which Preposition to Choose After an Adjective in English (Lists to Know) - TOEIC® Preparation

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