Gerunds after Prepositions

1. Gerund after prepositions that stand alone – some examples:

• after

  After having a shower, I went to bed.

• before

  I have breakfast before leaving for work in the morning.

• by

  I passed by studying every evening for a month.

• in spite of

  In spite of living in the country he cannot speak the language.

• on

  What did he say on learning your news?

• without

  You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs.

2. Gerund after Adjective + Preposition – some examples:

• afraid of

  He is afraid of losing his job.

• bad at/good at

  John is good at explaining things.

• crazy about

  She is crazy about seeing me.

• interested in

  I am interested in learning Japanese.

• sorry about/for

  He’s sorry for being late.

• worried about

  I’m worried about having no money.

3. Gerund after Noun + Preposition – some examples:

• advantage of

  What is the main advantage of living in the country?

• chance of

  Is there a chance of getting free tickets?

• difficulty in

  He has difficulty in sleeping.

• interest in

  He has no interest in earning lots of money.

• problem of

  They have solved the problem of storing energy.

• trouble for

  He was in trouble for fighting.

4. Gerund after Verb + Preposition – some examples:

• apologize for

        They apologized for being late.

• decide against

  She decided against marrying him.

• dream about/of

  Freda dreams of being a pop star.

• feel like

  I feel like getting drunk.

• look forward to

        I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.

• talk about/of

  He often talks about visiting me in London.

• worry about

  I wouldn’t worry about having an injection.