Academic Prepositions & Dependent Verb-Preposition Collocations

Eliminating prepositions slips with 'depend on', 'invest in', 'result in vs from', and 'contribute to'.

## Dependent Preposition Collocations In IELTS writing, using the incorrect dependent preposition distorts meaning and lowers your Grammatical Accuracy score. ### High-Frequency Collocations Table: - **Contribute TO** (+ noun / -ing): *Higher taxes contribute **to** reducing consumption.* - **Result IN** vs **Result FROM**: - *Lack of exercise results **in** obesity.* (Causes outcome) - *Obesity results **from** lack of exercise.* (Originates from cause) - **Invest IN**: *Governments must invest **in** renewable technologies.* - **Depend ON / Rely ON**: *Economic prosperity depends **on** innovation.* - **Attributed TO**: *The rise in global temperature is attributed **to** emissions.*

5 Common IELTS Mistakes & Side-by-Side Corrections:

Common Candidate Mistake:

"Heavy traffic contributes for air pollution in cities."

Band 8+ Correct Form:

"Heavy traffic contributes to air pollution in cities."

Why: The verb 'contribute' always takes the dependent preposition 'to', never 'for'.

Common Candidate Mistake:

"Poor health results from a poor diet and results to chronic illness."

Band 8+ Correct Form:

"Poor health results from a poor diet and results in chronic illness."

Why: 'Results in' introduces consequences; 'results from' introduces causes. 'Results to' is incorrect.

Common Candidate Mistake:

"Governments should invest into public infrastructure."

Band 8+ Correct Form:

"Governments should invest in public infrastructure."

Why: The standard academic collocation is 'invest in', not 'invest into'.

Common Candidate Mistake:

"According with the data shown in the chart..."

Band 8+ Correct Form:

"According to the data shown in the chart..."

Why: 'According' takes 'to', never 'with'. ('In accordance with' uses 'with').

Common Candidate Mistake:

"They discussed about the economic implications of the policy."

Band 8+ Correct Form:

"They discussed the economic implications of the policy."

Why: 'Discuss' is a transitive verb taking an object directly without 'about'. ('Talk about' uses 'about').

Interactive 5-Question Strategy Quiz

0 / 10 Answered

1

Choose the correct preposition: 'Deforestation contributes significantly ___ global carbon emissions.'

2

Select the sentence with correct cause-and-effect preposition:

3

Fill in the blank: 'The increase in global temperatures is largely attributed ___ anthropogenic emissions.'

4

Which sentence avoids an unnecessary preposition?

5

Choose the correct preposition: 'The company decided to invest heavily ___ employee upskilling.'

6

Fill in the blank: 'Economic resilience depends ___ structural diversification.'

7

Select the correct task 1 referencing phrase:

8

Choose the correct preposition: 'The government placed a ban ___ single-use plastics.'

9

Fill in the blank: 'Lack of sleep is associated ___ cognitive decline.'

10

Select the sentence with correct preposition:

Academic Prepositions & Dependent Verb-Preposition Collocations

Practice "Academic Prepositions & Dependent Verb-Preposition Collocations" in Targeted Tests