[GIU] UNIT129 Verb + Preposition 1 to and at

​​​UNIT129
​​Verb + Preposition 1 to and at

​​​A. Verb + ​to
​talk / speak TO somebody (​with is also possible but less common)
• Who was that woman you were ​talking to?
​listen TO...
• She likes ​listening to music of idol singers. (not listening music)
​apologize TO somebody (for...)
• He ​apologized to me for what happened. (not They apologized me)
​explain something ​TO somebody
• Can you ​explain this problem ​to me? (not explain me this problem)
​explain / ​describe (to somebody) what/how/why...
• I ​explained to her why I was worried. (not I explained them)
• Let me ​describe to you what I bought. It's the kiri! (not Let me describe you)

​​​B. We do not use ​to with these verbs:
​call / phone / telephone somebody
• Did you ​call your mother yesterday? (not call to your mother)
​answer somebody/something
• She made up her mind to ​answer my question. (not answer to my question)
​ask somebody
• Can I ​ask you a question? (not ask to you)
​thank somebody (for something)
• She ​thanked me for helping her. (not She thanked to me)

​​​C. Verb + ​at
​look / stare / glance AT..., have a look / take a look AT...
• What are you ​looking at? Is something there?
​laugh AT...
• She looked good with this haircut. But he ​laughed at her and she kicked him.
​aim / point (something) ​AT..., ​shoot / fire (a gun) ​AT...
• Don't ​aim the gun ​at me. It's dangerous.
• We saw someone with gun ​shooting at a wild boar, the boar was down.

​​​D. Some verbs can be followed by ​at or ​to, with a difference in meaning. For example:
​shout AT somebody (when you are angry)
• He got very angry and started ​shouting at me.
​shout TO somebody (so that they can hear you)
• He ​shouted to me from the other side of the street.
​throw something ​AT somebody/something (in order to hit them)
• Somebody ​threw an ax ​at the wild boar.
​throw something ​TO somebody (for somebody to catch)
• Sofia shouted "Catch" and ​throw her body ​to me from the window.