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

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

A1 Elementary

A2 Pre-intermediate

Greetings for the Day!!!,

It was a good lesson . It helps me to brush up on grammar.

Thanks. It was a nice lesson.

Can you please explain why in test 2 "for" is not correct? She's angry ___ not being invited to the dinner. - about (correct) - for (not correct) I wrongly choose "for" as it sounds like the reason why she is angry. Would it be a grammar mistake? or is this still acceptable?

Hello Walter Guidotti,

I'm not sure I can explain why as this is a collocation rather than a grammar rule, but it is correct to use 'about' and not 'for' when describing the thing that makes a person angry.

We only use 'angry for' in certain phrases such as angry for no reason, angry for this reason, and angry for a long time.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Peter! so clear!

Thanks, it was a nice lesson. I've learned pretty well, from the position of preposition after the adjective.

Hello,sir. Could you pls explain why there is "of ..." after "is" "the safety of all tourists is of paramount importance to us." What does it mean? n is it the same as "very important to us"? Thanks in advance

Hello Risa warysha,

Yes, it means the same thing as 'very important to us'. When 'importance' is the complement of the verb 'be', we put 'of' before the noun phrase because we're not saying the subject is the same as 'importance', we're saying it's important. I know this may seem a bit odd, but it's the way people speak and write.

By the way, it's unusual to say just 'of importance' -- usually some kind of adjective is used, e.g. 'of critical importance', 'of paramount importance', etc.

All the best,

Kirk