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🛡️ CYBER GRAMMAR • 12 MIN

Online Safety & Passwords

Learn when the verb after a word like of, about, by or without takes the -ing form.

📋 How to use this lesson

For the Teacher

Run this 12-minute quick drill in pairs or individually, then project the answer key to verify patterns together. Have students spot the prepositions before confirming each form.

For the Learner

First, read the 4 plain rules and compare the example sentences. Next, complete all 12 online safety missions from easy to hard.

Grammar Rules: Prepositions + -ing

Read the 4 patterns below. Prepositions are always followed by the -ing form, never the base verb.

Rule 1

Adjective + preposition + -ing

After words like worried about, good at, afraid of, or interested in, always use the -ing form. Never use the base verb or to + verb. Notice that the preposition stays attached to the adjective.

Topic Examples:

🔹 "My cousin is good at noticing fake messages."

🔹 "Careless users are worried about losing their accounts."

Rule 2

Verb + preposition + -ing

After verbs such as think about, insist on, succeed in, or apologise for, always put the following verb in the -ing form. Do not drop the preposition. Do not change the second verb into a past tense form.

Topic Examples:

🔹 "She succeeded in getting her old account back."

🔹 "The company apologised for sending spam to our inbox."

Rule 3

Prepositions: instead of, without, by, before, after

The words instead of, without, by, before, and after are prepositions, so any verb right after them takes -ing. The word by tells you how something happened, while without tells you what did not happen.

Topic Examples:

🔹 "Instead of choosing a short word, he chose three long ones."

🔹 "You can keep your phone secure by locking the screen."

Rule 4

When "to" is a preposition (look forward to / be used to)

In phrases like look forward to and be used to, the word to is a preposition rather than an infinitive marker. Because it is a preposition, the following verb must take -ing. You can test it by putting a plain noun in its place: if a noun fits, use -ing.

Topic Examples:

🔹 "I am used to checking the sender before I open a message."

🔹 "We look forward to updating our antivirus tool tonight."

A modern desktop screen showing an email inbox with an alert banner warning of a suspicious attachment and phishing scam

Figure: Spotting suspicious links and attachments before clicking.

Interactive Practice Missions

Apply the 4 rules to complete the 12 cybersecurity missions below.

Station 1: Choose the correct sentence

Pick the single sentence that uses the correct preposition and verb form.

1. Choose the sentence with the correct form after the adjective:

____ She is afraid of clicking on suspicious links ____ She is afraid from clicking on suspicious links ____ She is afraid of click on suspicious links

2. Choose the sentence with the correct form after the verb:

____ The team succeeded to stop the hacker yesterday ____ The team succeeded in stop the hacker yesterday ____ The team succeeded in stopping the hacker yesterday

3. Choose the sentence with the correct form after look forward to:

____ He looks forward to set a secure passcode ____ He looks forward to setting a secure passcode ____ He looks forward setting a secure passcode

Station 2: Rewrite the sentence

Rewrite each sentence using the preposition in bold. Do not change the general meaning.

4. Rewrite using the preposition without:

Original: "He opened the suspicious email and did not scan the attachment."

____ (Type your rewritten sentence here)

5. Rewrite using the preposition instead of:

Original: "She created a strong passcode and did not use her simple username."

____ (Type your rewritten sentence here)

6. Rewrite using the preposition by:

Original: "You protect your laptop when you install this update."

____ (Type your rewritten sentence here)

Station 3: Fill the gaps

Write the correct verb form in the blank. Use the clue word inside the brackets.

7. The careless gamer apologized for ____ his private password online. (share)

8. Are you interested in ____ how to block internet scams? (learn)

9. Always verify the website address before ____ your username. (enter)

Station 4: Correct errors in a chat message

Alex sent a message to Mark about an account scare. Type the corrected phrase for each underlined mistake.

💬 Message from Alex 10:42 AM

"Hi Mark! Yesterday I was careless and [10] thought about click that weird attachment. You know I [11] am not used to check the web address carefully. Now I [12] am worried about lose all my photos to a scam!"

10. Correct error [10] (thought about click):

____

11. Correct error [11] (am not used to check):

____

12. Correct error [12] (am worried about lose):

____

💡

Quick reminder

After a preposition, the next verb takes -ing.

Grammar: Online Safety and Passwords

Online Safety & Passwords

📋 How to use this lesson

Grammar Rules: Prepositions + -ing

Adjective + preposition + -ing

Verb + preposition + -ing

Prepositions: instead of, without, by, before, after

When "to" is a preposition (look forward to / be used to)

Interactive Practice Missions

Station 1: Choose the correct sentence

Station 2: Rewrite the sentence

Station 3: Fill the gaps

Station 4: Correct errors in a chat message

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