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
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
Hello muratt,
The first sentence could mean many things, but in general it means Tom is the one who is at the bank. I imagine him inside the bank, but I suppose he could be just outside. 'at' doesn't specify exactly what location, whereas 'in' makes it clear he's inside.
'at' is often used to speak about places where people do common activities (e.g. school, work, the dentist's, the bank). This is also the sense in which 'at' is used in the second sentence -- he was within the fairgrounds, presumably in many different locations.
You can read a bit more about all this in this explanation.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello muratt,
With 'withdraw', I usually say 'from', but you could also say 'at' or 'in', though I probably wouldn't use 'in' because the precise location of time is probably not important.
For the second sentences, you could say he's taking the exam 'in the school', but again I'd probably say 'at' unless it were important to make it clear he was inside.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tomiris.Askarova,
You are welcome to use the comments -- you can see all the ones you wrote earlier today now -- it's just that they don't get published immediately. This is because we read all comments before publishing them in order to keep LearnEnglish free from spam and inappropriate comments.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi muratt,
There are a number of things to correct there:
At home can describe a person inside the house or flat or nearby. At the house is similar, though it usually means nearby/outside.
In the house means inisde the building.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team