In English grammar, it's sometimes hard to remember which preposition is used with which adjective. The list below is a handy reference for the more common adjectives.
afraid of
"I'm afraid of heights."
also scared of, frightened of
angry about something
"She was angry about the new rules at work."
angry with someone
"He was angry with his son for coming home late."
bad at something
"The student was bad at Geography."
also good at
crazy about something
"She was crazy about the Spice Girls and had all their CD's."
different from or to something / someone
"The English are different from the Americans."
happy to do something
"She was happy to help."
also glad to and pleased to
happy for someone
"I was happy for him when he passed his exam."
also pleased for
happy with someone / something
"The boss was happy with his work."
also pleased with and satisfied with
ill with something
"She's ill with the flu."
nice to someone
"Be nice to him – he's had a bad day."
polite to someone
"The policeman was very polite to me."
ready to do something
"I'm ready to start work now."
ready for something / someone
"It takes me an hour to get the children ready for school."
responsible for something / someone
"She felt responsible for her children."
tired from doing something (physically tired)
"I'm tired from all this hard work."
also exhausted from
tired with or of something (fed up, bored with)
"She was tired of taking the train to work every day and decided to drive instead."
typical of someone
"It's typical of her to do that for you – she always offers to help."
English Grammar Tip
The secret of remembering the right preposition in English grammar is through practice. Try to use them as much as possible and you'll soon be saying them without having to think.
45 comments on “Prepositions and adjectives”
If I write "CHRIS IS POINTING AT SHE",will it be right?
No, it should be "Chris is pointing at her".
How should i say this,
Like i said or
As i said
Thanks for your reply.
To be grammatically correct, you should say "As I said". However, you will hear a lot of people say "Like I said".
Is it correct to use ( to ) in this sentence :
Don't be late to your music lesson .
Thanks for your help in advance
Yes, it's correct. (You can also use "for".)
Whats d right preposition?
There's no advantage ________ getting another account with us.
"in"
i want to say that my friend will stay at my home tonight, she's gona sleep at my home.
how do i say it?
my friend is staying —- me.
in french: ell reste -chez- moi
is there any preposition to use that have the same meaning of "chez" in French?
She is staying with me / She is staying at my house.
we say: it's very kind of you or it's very kind from you?
It's very kind of you.
Is it correct if I say: Pls draw your attention "at" this point ?
No. Say "I'd like to draw your attention to this point."
Hello I am just wondering what is the right preposition to use for this sentence:
I agree WITH my parent's opinion about politics.
or
I agree ON my parent's opinion about politics.(
Because the sentence is about the OPINION of the parents not the PARENTS itself)
Am I right?
Thanks..(",)
Mariz » You can say:
"I agree with my parents about politics" or "We agree on politics".
is it ok to say im angry/mad at him for coming home late?
cha » Yes.
Which one is correct? He is gentleman.. or He is gentlemanly.. Thanks.
albert » Either "he is a gentleman" or "he is gentlemanly" – both are fine.
which one is correct?
In the mean time or At the mean time and In the end of the day or At the end of the day…
Thanx!..
heidi » The correct phrases are:
In the meantime
At the end of the day
which one is correct. may i know who am i speakin with or may i know who am i speaking to.?
Both are fine.
I will be 15 minutes late is a correct sentense; but if I say, "I will be late by 15 minutes." Is it correct or what preposition can be use after late, for or by?
Yes, the sentence is fine.
I entirely wonder Saty's sentences. I think it should have to be said "May I know who I am speaking to" but not "… who am I..".
Is it right?
Yes, you're right. Thank you for spotting that!
I refer to English article "Illnesses don't have an article", but you say [a] cold and [a] headache.
Above mentioned sentence, "She's ill with the flu. Why you use [the] flu, I thought you don't use [the] for illnesses.
Thanks and looking forward to your answer.
You can use an article with some illnesses: a cold / a headache / the flu; but not with others: cancer / hepatitis / measles etc.
please give me the correct preposition that goes with the word "APPROVAL"
"for": "He gave his approval for the project". (noun)
"of": "He didn't approve of the idea." (verb)
I wonder why they say:-
He was in the taxi at 2:30.
He was in his car at 2:30.
He was on the subway at 2:30.
He was on the bus at 2:30.
He was on the airplane at 2:30.
what is the difference between car or taxi than bus or airplane or subway?.
Thank you in advance for your answer.
You can't always use logic to explain English rules! I think that in this case, it helps to think of cars and taxis as small, closed spaces that you have to get into, while buses, trains, planes etc are much bigger and you need to step on to them.
Is it correct to say "You are late from class?"
You are late for class.
are the following sentences correct:
1- Im addicted on/in talking with/to u..
2- he was anxious ahead of the interview.
3- he was relaxed during/ in/ on the interview.
4- following the interview he was completely happy
5-he said that he was always free for/to me.
6- what the most preposition are u confused about/in/on?
7- Im happy to see u again.
8- I met her in/on the chatroom yesterday.
9- I was busy in/on/ at work today morning.
10-he calls me for persistence.
can u pls show the differences between whole and all.. I always get confused to use them with some nouns such as body,day,matters…etc
thanks in advance…
1- Im addicted to talking with/to u..
2- he was anxious ahead of the interview.
3- he was relaxed during the interview.
4- following the interview he was completely happy
5-he said that he was always free for me.
6- what prepositions are u confused about?
7- Im happy to see u again.
8- I met her in the chatroom yesterday.
9- I was busy at work today morning.
10-he calls me for persistence.?? I don't understand this one.
The whole day (= 100% of the day); all day (same meaning)
This shop is open all day / This shop is open the whole day
thanks from the bottom of my heart Clare,
but I still have some questions regarding my examples:
-what about if I use "addicted" with the word "drugs"
can I say:" He is addicted to drugs" or " addicted on"
in my tenth example I meant that " he encouraged me to be persistent to learn english quickly"
is it correct to use " call me for" instead of encourage
" he called me for persistence if I want to learn english quickly"
Addicted to drugs
He encouraged me not to give up / to be persistent in learning English
He called for persistence in learning…
i want to ask that if some one asks me that where are u so ,my answer will be i m at home or i m in home…..
thanks
I'm at home.
Is it right "hopless IN chess" or it it "hopless AT chess",as it is "bad AT Geography"?
hopeless at / bad at (chess).
i am trying to find all the ways of using preposition ON but for some reason i cant quite understand how to explain this sentence. the cow was brought up ON milk. how you expain this .
I am rarely absent of/from work?
She's excellent at/with cooking?
absent from
excellent at cooking / with children
To bring someone up on = to give someone something from an early age.
In the following sentence, what part of speech is the word embellish? Rule?
Eli tends to embellis the truth.
It's a verb. Specifically, it's part of the infinitive form "to embellish".
What do you say when some one says, "Goodmorning! How are you today?"
Do you say "I'm Good." or "I'm well."
"Fine, thank you." In the US you might here "good". It sounds a bit formal to say "I'm well".
