We use ~ + a period of time to say how long something goes on:
- ~ six years (I've lived in this house ~ six years.)
- ~ two hours (We watched television ~ two hours last night.)
- ~ a week (Ann is going away ~ a week in September.)
- Are you going away ~ the week-end? (You cannot use 'during' in this way).
We say 'to go/to come ~ a walk/ ~ a swim/ ~ a drink etc.' :
- She always goes ~ a walk with her dog in the morning.
- After work we went to a cafe ~ a drink.
We say 'to have something ~ breakfast/~ lunch/~ dinner' :
- What did you have ~ lunch?
We say 'to feel/to be sorry ~ someone':
- I feel sorry ~ George.
We say 'to be famous/responsible ~ something':
- The Italian city of Florence is famous ~ its art treasures.
- Who was responsible ~ all that noise last night?
We say 'a cheque ~ (a sum of money)':
- They sent me a cheque ~ USD 50.
We say 'a demand/a need ~ something :
- My firm closed down because there wasn't enough demand ~ its product.
We say 'a reason ~ something' :
- The train was late but no-one knew the reason ~ the delay.
We say 'to be sorry ~ doing something' :
- I'm sorry ~ shouting at you yesterday. (but it is more usual to say: I'm sorry I shouted at you yesterday.)
We say 'to apologize to someone ~ something' :
- When I realized I was wrong, I apologized to him ~ my mistake.
We say 'to apply ~ a job/a place at university etc.' :
- I think this job would suit you. Why don't you apply ~ it?
We say 'to care ~ someone/something' :
i)
= like something ( usually in questions and negative sentences ):
- Would you care ~ a cup of coffee? (
= Would you like ...?
)
- I don't care ~ hot weather. (
= I don't like ...
)
ii)
= look after someone:
- She is very old. She needs someone to care ~ her.
We say 'to look ~ someone/something (
= try to find
)' :
- I've lost my keys. Can you help me look ~ them?
We say 'to pay (someone) ~ something' :
- I didn't have enough money to pay ~ the meal.
But: pay a bill/a fine/$50/a fare/taxes etc. (no preposition) .
We say 'to search a person/a place/a bag etc. ~ someone/something' :
- I've searched the whole house ~ my keys but I still can't find them.
We say 'to wait ~ someone/something' :
- I'm not going out yet. I'm waiting ~ the rain to stop.
We say 'to ask (someone) ~ something' :
- I wrote to the company asking them ~ more in~mation about the job.
But: 'ask (someone) a question' (no preposition).
We say 'to blame someone/something ~ something :
- Everybody blamed me ~ the accident.
We also say: 'someone is to blame ~ something' :
- Everybody said that I was is blame ~ the accident.
We say 'to leave (a place) ~ (another place)':
- I haven't seen her since she left home ~ work this morning.