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 (317 votes)
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Submitted by Overnight on Tue, 02/11/2021 - 13:23

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thank for the content, I am exited about this lesson

Submitted by Bhanu on Wed, 27/10/2021 - 06:19

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Really! Very interesting to learn English with test because it evaluating easily.

Submitted by abuahmad999 on Mon, 25/10/2021 - 15:15

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Hi
Are the grammar in this website and skills enough if I want to pass academic IELTS with high score

Hi abuahmad999,

It will definitely help you! But by themselves, the grammar and skills are not enough, because to get a high score it's important to know how the exam works, what the questions are like, and what kind of answers score highly (especially for the speaking and writing parts - the marking criteria are not just about grammar).

It helps if you can study some example answers too. I'd recommend having a look at TakeIELTS and considering our online IELTS courses.

Good luck with your studies!

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by mima11 on Fri, 15/10/2021 - 11:15

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good exercise to learn English

Submitted by momomartin on Sat, 09/10/2021 - 07:45

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Hello
I have a relevant question.
what's the grammatical role of "are of" in this sentence and how can I use it? actually, I didn't find a relavent topic for "be of noun", so I asked you.

Children are of high chance to be vulnerable to numerous serious diseases such as diabetes.

Hello momomartin,

I don't think there is a general rule for this kind of structure. We use it in certain phrases, generally with an adjective as well as a noun:

~ be of good/questionable character
~ be of sound mind
~ be of good breeding

We can also say 'of an age' with a plural subject, meaning two or more people are equally old: They were of an age.

All of these uses are quite formal or literary in terms of style.

However, the use in your sentence does not seem correct to me, both in terms of the choice of noun phrase and the lack of an article in the phrase.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team