You can be good at a task, interested in a subject or proud of someone. Learn the adjective and its preposition together. Changing the preposition can change the meaning, and some adjectives allow more than one pattern.
A preposition is a word such as at, of or in. It connects the adjective to the person, thing or activity that follows. Learn the whole pair: interested in, not just interested.
You can use be or another suitable linking verb before the adjective. A linking verb connects the subject to a description. The adjective does not change to show time; the verb does.
Learn the later vocabulary as you need it.
British Council says there is no grammatical rule that tells you which preposition goes with each adjective. The groups below help you remember useful patterns. They are not rules that every feeling needs about or every skill word needs at.
Write a new pair in a short sentence. Include its meaning if the adjective has several patterns. A dictionary can show you which patterns fit the meaning you want.
You do not always need a following phrase. I'm worried is a complete description. Add about the journey when you want to say what the worry concerns.
Use good at and bad at for skills. British Council also gives amazing at, brilliant at and terrible at. After at, name the subject or activity.
| Pair | Original example |
|---|---|
| good at | Our guide is good at remembering routes. |
| bad at | I am bad at estimating distances. |
| brilliant at | My cousin is brilliant at chess. |
| terrible at | We are terrible at keeping plants alive. |
Compare good at with good for and good with. The preposition helps show which meaning of good you intend.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| good at a task | Able to do it well | He is good at repairing watches. |
| good for someone or something | Helpful or having a positive effect | A short break is good for your concentration. |
| good with someone | Able to deal with them well | Our new coach is good with young children. |
Use about with worried, nervous, excited, happy, sad or angry to name what the feeling concerns or what causes it.
Other feeling adjectives use of. Learn these pairs separately.
| Pair | Original example |
|---|---|
| afraid of | The dog is afraid of thunder. |
| frightened of | He is frightened of losing his passport. |
| scared of | The child was scared of the barking dog. |
| proud of | She is proud of finishing the course. |
These groups do not mean that about and of can freely replace each other. Learn the form with the adjective and its sense.
Tired of means bored or annoyed by something, not simply needing sleep. Keen on can express strong interest or liking.
Use these pairs to show a connection. To is a preposition here, followed by a noun or pronoun.
| Pair | Original example |
|---|---|
| married to | Our neighbour is married to a nurse. |
| allergic to | One guest is allergic to sesame. |
| similar to | This key is similar to yours. |
To also introduces the person who receives someone's behaviour. You can be friendly, nice, polite, kind or rude to someone.
Kind of someone to do something is another pattern. It comments on the person's action, rather than naming the person who receives the kindness.
The you in kind of you is the person who did the kind thing. The us in kind to us names the people who received the kindness. See Adjective + to-infinitive for the longer adjective + infinitive patterns.
For and in have useful pairs too. Do not choose between them from the meaning of the preposition alone.
| Pair | Original example |
|---|---|
| famous for | The village is famous for its pottery. |
| responsible for | Who is responsible for checking the doors? |
| good for / bad for | This light is bad for your eyes. |
| interested in | We are interested in renting the empty studio. |
| experienced in | She is experienced in garden design. |
| involved in | Both clubs are involved in the project. |
You can also learn full of, aware of, familiar with and pleased with as complete pairs. Cambridge's grammar table gives full of, aware of and familiar with; check a dictionary when adding a new word to your own list.
Angry with someone and angry at someone are both possible. Angry about names the issue or situation. Cambridge also gives angry at with a situation, so do not make an absolute rule that at is only for people.
You can be sorry about a situation or sorry for trouble you caused. These are not exclusive boxes: about can refer to your own action too. Cambridge's example of sorry about explicitly says the speaker was at fault.
Feel sorry for someone expresses sympathy for them. That is a different use, not necessarily an apology.
Some pairs allow alternatives without this kind of meaning change. Cambridge gives surprised at and surprised by. Do not mark one wrong simply because you learnt the other first.
Use similar to for things that are alike but not entirely the same. Use the same as for an exact match. Include the before same in this comparison pattern.
Different from is the usual comparison pattern in Cambridge's grammar. Different to is also used, especially in speaking. Different than is also used in American English. Cambridge notes that British speakers also use than before a clause, but that many speakers consider this incorrect. Do not cross out all different to or different than forms as universal errors.
These are word-specific comparisons. They do not give you a rule that every adjective showing a connection takes to.
Use an object pronoun after a preposition: me, you, him, her, it, us or them. If an activity directly follows the preposition, use the -ing form, not the base verb.
Do not confuse preposition to with the to before an infinitive. An infinitive is the base verb with to, as in to leave. Some adjectives allow both kinds of pattern.
Interested in learning and interested to hear are both possible. It is wrong to turn interested in into a ban on every interested + infinitive pattern. See Adjective + to-infinitive and Verbs that change meaning: -ing or to: stop, remember, forget, try, regret, go on, mean, need, want for those choices.
In questions, the preposition can remain at the end. Do not lose it when you move the question word.
See Questions with prepositions for the position of prepositions in fuller questions.
✗She is interested in learn pottery.
✓She is interested in learning pottery.
An activity directly after in uses the -ing form.
✗The receptionist was rude to we.
✓The receptionist was rude to us.
Use the object pronoun us after to.
✗My ticket is the same than yours.
✓My ticket is the same as yours.
Use the same as for this comparison.
Preposition + -ing: look forward to, interested in, instead of develops the verb form after a preposition. Adjective + to-infinitive and Verbs that change meaning: -ing or to: stop, remember, forget, try, regret, go on, mean, need, want compare infinitive patterns. Noun + preposition and Verb + preposition cover pairs with other word types. -ed and -ing adjectives: feeling and effect explains feeling/effect adjective pairs; Questions with prepositions covers questions such as the ones above.
Eight questions. Choose one answer for each.