Interested IN, Depend ON: The Prepositions Arabic Speakers Map Wrong
Arabic gives you a tidy little box of prepositions. You have fi, ila, min, 3ala, and a handful more, and they cover almost everything. English does not play this game. English has dozens of prepositions and it pairs them with verbs in ways that feel random, because they are partly random. The trouble starts when your brain takes fi and stamps it as 'in' everywhere, or takes min and stamps it as 'from' everywhere. That is how you get 'in Monday', 'arrive to London', 'depend from the manager', and 'responsible from the team'. Each of these is a direct translation of the Arabic word, and each one is wrong in a way that an English speaker hears immediately. The good news: these are not deep grammar problems. They are a fixed list of mismatches, and once you see which Arabic word is tricking you, you can correct them one by one. Below are the ones I hear most from Arabic-speaking students, with the Arabic logic behind each so you can catch yourself before the wrong word comes out.
✗ I will see you in Monday.
✓ I will see you on Monday.
Why Arabic uses fi for time inside a period: fi yawm il-ithnayn, fi as-sana. Your brain maps fi straight to 'in', so days come out with 'in'. English wants 'on' for days and dates.
Days and dates take 'on' (on Monday, on the 5th). Months and years take 'in' (in March, in 2026). Clock times take 'at' (at 7). Memorise the three buckets, not the single fi.
✗ We arrived to London at night.
✓ We arrived in London at night.
Why Arabic says wasalna ila London, and ila means 'to', so 'arrive to' feels correct. But English 'arrive' rejects 'to'. It takes 'in' for cities and countries and 'at' for buildings and points.
Never 'arrive to'. Say 'arrive in' a city or country, 'arrive at' an airport, station, or building. If you want a verb with 'to', use 'get to London' or 'go to London'.
✗ It depends from the weather.
✓ It depends on the weather.
Why The Arabic verb ya3tamid takes 3ala ('on'), but many learners override that and reach for min because they picture the weather as a 'source' the result comes from. That min-equals-from reflex produces 'depend from'.
'Depend' always takes 'on'. Same with 'rely on' and 'count on'. Glue it: depend ON, no exceptions.
✗ He is responsible from the new team.
✓ He is responsible for the new team.
Why Arabic says mas'ool 3an, and 3an is often translated as 'from' or 'about'. So 'responsible from' or 'responsible about' come straight out of 3an.
'Responsible for' a person, task, or result. Replace the 3an reflex with 'for' every time you talk about who is in charge of something.
✗ I am interested about history.
✓ I am interested in history.
Why Arabic uses muhtamm bi, and bi gets translated loosely as 'about', 'with', or 'by' depending on the student. None of those match English here.
'Interested in' is fixed. Picture your interest going inside the subject. Interested IN history, IN football, IN her.
✗ She got married with a doctor.
✓ She married a doctor. / She got married to a doctor.
Why Arabic tazawwajat min or the social idea of marrying 'with' someone pushes learners to 'married with'. The min and 'with' instinct both miss the English pattern.
Either no preposition ('she married him') or 'get married to' someone. 'Married with' in English means 'has', as in 'married with two children'. Different meaning.
✗ I am angry from my brother.
✓ I am angry with my brother.
Why Arabic ghadban min uses min, so the source of the anger comes out as 'from'. The min-equals-from mapping fails again with emotions.
'Angry with' a person, 'angry about' a situation. Save 'from' for physical movement away from a place.
✗ We discussed about the budget for two hours.
✓ We discussed the budget for two hours.
Why Arabic naqashna 3an or the habit of attaching a preposition to the topic pushes 'discuss about'. Arabic comfortably puts a particle before the topic; English 'discuss' takes the object directly.
'Discuss' takes no preposition. Drop the 'about'. If you really want 'about', use 'talk about' instead.
✗ The book consists from three parts.
✓ The book consists of three parts.
Why Arabic yatakawwan min uses min, and min here lines up with 'from' in the learner's head. So 'consist from' appears constantly in writing.
'Consist of' is fixed. Whenever the Arabic verb has min meaning 'made up of', the English answer is usually 'of', not 'from': consist of, made of, composed of.
✗ I was in the bus when you called.
✓ I was on the bus when you called.
Why Arabic fi al-bus uses fi, and fi maps to 'in'. But English splits transport: small enclosed things take 'in', public transport you walk through takes 'on'.
'On' the bus, train, plane, ship. 'In' a car or taxi. The rule of thumb: if you can stand up and walk inside, it is 'on'.
Common questions
Why do Arabic speakers say 'arrive to' in English?
Because Arabic says wasala ila, and ila means 'to'. The translation feels natural but English 'arrive' never takes 'to'. Use 'arrive in' a city or country, 'arrive at' a building, or switch the verb to 'get to' or 'go to'.
Is it 'depend on' or 'depend from'?
Always 'depend on'. The Arabic verb ya3tamid actually takes 3ala ('on'), but learners often override it with min because they picture a source, which gives the wrong 'depend from'. The same fix applies to 'rely on' and 'count on'.
How do I stop translating fi as 'in' every time?
Split fi into three English buckets when you talk about time: 'on' for days and dates, 'in' for months and years, 'at' for clock times. For transport, use 'on' for the bus, train, and plane. Drill the buckets until they replace the single fi reflex.
Why is 'responsible from the team' wrong?
Arabic mas'ool 3an uses 3an, which students translate as 'from' or 'about'. English uses 'responsible for'. Replace the 3an reflex with 'for' whenever you mean who is in charge of something.
Are English prepositions just memorisation, or is there a rule?
Partly both. Some patterns have logic, like 'on' for surfaces you can walk on, but most verb-plus-preposition pairs are fixed and must be memorised as one chunk. The fastest route for Arabic speakers is to learn which Arabic word is misleading you and overwrite that specific pairing.
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