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

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Profile picture for user dipakrgandhi

Submitted by dipakrgandhi on Wed, 04/12/2024 - 08:18

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Sir,

Which sentence is correct:

  1. I am also computer literate.

Or

2) I am also a computer literate.

 

Hello dipakrgandhi,

'Computer literate' is a compound adjective not a noun and so the first sentence is correct.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Peter sir.

But iisn't there an implied noun here?

eg. I am also a computer literate (person implied).

Or do we need an explit noun 'person' or 'man' to necessitate an indefinite article here.

 

Regards

 

Dipak R Gandhi 

 

 

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Submitted by dipakrgandhi on Tue, 03/12/2024 - 03:16

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Sir

 I am refreshing a past memory: 

'You were concerned that the immersion of the last remains of my mother went well.'

My friend had asked me to share the video of the immersion of my mother's last remains in the holy river. And that is what I mean to refresh in above sentence. 

 

Is the usage of 'went' in my sentence correct: that the immersion of the last rremains went well.

 

And can we put into quotation mark the sentence after colon, like I have done above.

 

Please guide.

 

Regards

 

Dipak R Gandhi 

 

 

Hello Dipak,

'Went' is fine here. I'm not sure why you need to use inverted commas or speech marks here as you are reporting the other person's feelings rather than quoting what was said. I don't think the punctuation is necessary.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you sir.

In amy general case, can we put the text in speech mark after a colon!

Can you please give one example for this?

 

Regards

 

Dipak Gandhi

 

 

 

Hello dipakrgandhi,

We use speech marks to indicate speech or writing which we are quoting. I don't see any quoted language in your example so there is no need for speech marks at all.

You can find many examples of the use of speech marks here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_marks_in_English

https://www.eng-lang.co.uk/ogs.htm

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/punctuation 

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Lwinstn on Sat, 23/11/2024 - 08:22

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Thanks for your help 😃 ☺️.You help us free with no money 💰 

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Submitted by wai phyo hlaing on Sat, 05/10/2024 - 18:24

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