Adjectives and prepositions

Adjectives and prepositions

Do you know how to use adjectives with prepositions like interested in or similar to? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how adjectives are used with prepositions.

I'm interested in the idea.
My jacket is similar to yours.
She's brilliant at maths.
My neighbour is angry about the party.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar test 1: Adjectives and prepositions

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Some adjectives go with certain prepositions. There are no grammatical rules for which preposition is used with which adjective, so it's a good idea to try to learn them together. To help you do this, write new vocabulary in your notebook in a sentence or phrase.

However, there are some patterns that can help you. Let's look at them first. Remember that a preposition is followed by a noun or a gerund (-ing form).

With at

We use at with adjectives like good/bad/amazing/brilliant/terrible, etc. to talk about skills and abilities.

He's really good at English.
She's amazing at the piano.
They're terrible at organising anything.
I'm not very good at drawing.

With about

We often use about with adjectives of feelings like angry/excited/happy/nervous/sad/stressed/worried, etc. to explain what is causing that feeling.

I'm angry about the decision.
He's nervous about the presentation.
She's excited about the new job.
They were worried about the exam.

With of

However, sometimes we use of with feelings.

She was afraid of telling her mum.
I'm frightened of having an accident.
He's scared of flying.
You should be proud of your progress.

With to

We can use to to show the connection between people or things.

He's married to the director.
I'm addicted to my phone.
I'm allergic to nuts.
It's similar to the old one.

We can also use to to talk about someone's behaviour towards someone else.

They were really friendly to me.
Was he nice to you?
He is always polite to everyone.
She was very rude to the waitress.

Here are some other useful adjectives with prepositions.

With for

Exercise is good for you.
Stress is bad for you.
The town is famous for its cheese.
I'm responsible for the financial side of the business.

With in

She's interested in the project.
They want someone who's experienced in design.
I didn't want to get involved in the argument.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Grammar test 2: Adjectives and prepositions

Average: 4.5 (307 votes)
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Submitted by kenan.zero on Fri, 01/09/2023 - 10:12

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I am good at swimming.
I am happy about that.
I'm proud of my progress.
I like to swim very much.
Swimming is good for me.
I'm interested in learning different techniques of swimming.

Submitted by farhadwahaj on Sun, 27/08/2023 - 09:01

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Hello every one tpday my first day of this cours .And i learn the A1 today . And i hope that are good bye

Hi farhadwahaj,

Welcome! We hope you enjoy learning English here :) Thank you for visiting our website.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Submitted by toan8bit on Tue, 22/08/2023 - 06:24

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In this lesson, I have learned many things about prepositions

With at, I can use for talking about abilities like she is good at Spanish or cooking.
With in, I can use involved in meaning join doing something
With for, I think this book is good for you.
With about, we can use when talk about feeling like I am exicted about NEAR APAC 2023
Sometime, of can be used to talk about feeling too. She am afraid of nothing

Submitted by Khangvo2812 on Tue, 01/08/2023 - 06:45

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Hello,
Could you check my sentence for gramar mistake?
There are a lot of exercises available online to help you feel more confident with using preposition?

Hello Khangvo2812,

The word 'preposition' needs to be plural: 'prepositions'. Once you fix that, it will all be correct!

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Rabiullah Niam on Mon, 31/07/2023 - 01:31

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It's really interesting. I'm enjoying & love this site.

Submitted by Buulo on Sun, 23/07/2023 - 09:00

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I’m really enjoying to learn grammar