Prepositions + -ing: How it works 

Take a look at the following two sentences. Which one is correct? 

Are you interested in studying English? 

Are you interested in study English? 

If you chose the first one—well done! But why is the first sentence correct? 

The Rule 

When a preposition (such as in, at, of, for, about, with) is followed by a verb, that verb must be in the -ing form. 

So instead of study, we say studying. 

This structure is common in everyday English, and you hear it often when people are talking about interests, habits, and feelings. 

Examples in daily life 

• I’m scared of swimming in the sea. 
• Thanks for giving me a ride. 
• My brother’s good at playing tennis. 
• How about taking the bus? 
• I’m not interested in reading books. 

In each example, a preposition comes directly before a verb in the -ing form. This is the natural and correct structure. 

Prepositions used before -ing verbs 

Here are some of the most frequent ones: 

• in – She’s interested in travelling. 
• at – He’s great at cooking. 
• of – She’s afraid of flying. 
• for – Thanks for helping me. 
• about – We talked about moving abroad. 
• with – He’s fed up with waiting. 

Tip: Using -ing after prepositions is a small detail, but it makes a big difference in how natural your English sounds. Once you start noticing it, you’ll hear it everywhere; in conversations, books, films, and even song lyrics.