Lesson 33 of 46

Adjectives with prepositions

Use the fixed preposition after common adjectives.

The rules

  1. 1.Many adjectives take a fixed preposition: good at, interested in, afraid of, proud of, responsible for, similar to, different from, married to, worried about.
  2. 2.After the preposition, use a noun or -ing: "good at writing", "interested in learning".
  3. 3.Say "different from" (or "different to" in UK English). "Different than" is common in American English.
  4. 4.Learn each adjective with its preposition as one chunk.

Common mistakes and fixes

Incorrect: I am good in mathematics.

Correct: I am good at mathematics.

Good at.

Incorrect: She is married with a doctor.

Correct: She is married to a doctor.

Married to.

Incorrect: He is interested to learn Spanish.

Correct: He is interested in learning Spanish.

Interested in + -ing.

Watch out: After any preposition, use -ing, not to + verb.

Quick quiz

1. I am afraid ___ flying.
2. She is responsible ___ the budget.
3. He is good ___ solving problems.

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