Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners - Robin Torres-Gouzerh 2016

Prepositions
11 The stative passive

When certain past participles are used as adjectives in the stative passive, they are often combined with specific prepositions. Following are some frequently used combinations.

accustom - to

acquaint - with

compose - of

cover - with

dedicate - to

devote - to

disappoint - in, with

dress - in

finish - with

interest - in

make - with

marry - to

oppose - to

relate - to

satisfy - with

scare - of

tire - of

When using one of these verbs in the static passive, the appropriate preposition must accompany it.

The bride is dressed all in white.

I was tired of all his complaining.

Exercise 11.4 Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in parentheses plus an appropriate preposition.

Example A smoothie is made with fruit juice and ice. (make)

1. Water ... hydrogen and oxygen. (compose)

2. George ... Greek history. (interest)

3. He ... living on his own. (accustom)

4. My mom ... large dogs. (scare)

5. I ... the progress we have made this past week. (satisfy)

6. It’s autumn, and the country roads ... leaves. (cover)

7. We ... that policy. It’s unfair to the immigrant workers. (oppose)

8. Josh Davis ... his composition. (finish)

9. Ruben ... Eleanor. (marry)

10. I ... not ... that author’s work. (acquaint)

11. She is in a bad mood, because she ... doing nothing. (tire)

12. Is your last name really Kennedy? ... you ... the Kennedy family? (relate)

13. Steve works for an animal shelter. He ... his work. (dedicate)

14. The Chicago Bulls lost to a much weaker team. They ... themselves. (disappoint)

15. I am not as brave as you think. I ... the noises in my own house. (scare)

16. The administration ... improving public education. (dedicate)

17. Sarah and I ... each other. (devote)

18. Marc ... his best suit for his sister’s wedding. (dress)