Prepositions usually appear after adjectives to help the adjective to describe ideas or emotions. The preposition is typically followed by a noun or gerund to form a prepositional phrase.
1. Adjective + about – this pair expresses feelings caused by specific situations or events.
Examples:
- angry about
She is angry about the noise from the neighbours.
- furious about
The man was furious about waiting in the rain all night.
- mad about
Susan is always mad about loud music.
- anxious about
Paul is anxious about traveling abroad next summer.
- stressed about
Samantha is stressed about the exams.
- worried about
Our mother is worried about paying the bills.
- excited about
I am excited about watching the film that’s coming out next week!
- happy about
Aren’t you happy about your new job?
- sad about
He is sad about his results.
- sorry about
I am sorry about the way I talked to you last night.
- upset about
Our football team is upset about losing the match.
2. Adjective + at – describes skills and abilities.
- good at
I am so good at maths.
- bad at
Kim is bad at football.
- terrible at
I am terrible at singing!
3. Adjective + by – illustrates causes for specific reactions and it is used when the sentence is passive voice.
Examples:
- amazed by
I was amazed by the number of people offering to participate in this show.
- shocked by
Tim was shocked by his parents behaviour.
- built by
The house was built by my grandfather.
4. Adjective + for – are used in pair to demonstrate purpose or reason.
- famous for
Italy is famous for its food.
- known for
Romania is known for Transfăgărăşan Road.
- responsible for
You are responsible for your actions.
! For is also used to emphasize the feelings toward a specific event, thing, or person. For that we use this form:
feel/be + adjective + for + someone/something
Examples:
- bad for
I feel so bad for Harry!
- happy for
Bobby is happy for our wedding.
5. Adjective + from – this pair emphasizes a point of opposition or the result of an action.
- different from
George is very different from his brother.
- protected from
We are protected from the radiations if we don’t expose too much in the sun.
- tired from
He was tired from working all night long.
6. Adjective + in – shows connections or relationships between people and things
- interested in
Brian is interested in medical research.
- involved in
Peter is involved in many activities for children.
7. Adjective + of
We use adjective and preposition of to identify causes of mental and physical states.
Examples:
- afraid of
My sister is afraid of spiders.
- frightened of
Many people are frightened of ghosts.
- scared of
Are you scared of fire?
- kind of
It was very kind of John to buy us chocolate.
- nice of
It was nice of your mother to treat us with cookies.
- strange of
It’s strange of Susan to act like that.
- proud of
I am very proud of my progress in English.
- rude of
I thought it rude of Tom to shout at me in front of my parents.
- sick of
I am so sick of doing homeworks every day.
- tired of
Jane is tired of her husband attitude.
- silly of
It was silly of you to think he really changed.
8. Adjective + on
- keen on
I am so keen on cooking.
- based on
This film is based on real facts.
9. Adjective + to – describes behaviors, states or connections between things and people.
Examples:
- accustomed to
I quickly became accustomed to getting up early for work.
- addicted to
My aunt is addicted to coffee.
- committed to
She is committed to medical research.
- dedicated to
I am very dedicated to my work.
- devoted to
We all are devoted to our families.
- friendly to
My daughter is friendly to her collegues.
- good to
Was your father good to you?
- kind to
A doctor should always be kind to his patients.
- nice to
Tony was nice to me after the accident.
- married to
My mother is married to my father for many years.
- mean to
Why are you so mean to me?
- rude to
The boy was very rude to his parents.
- opposed to
I am totally opposed to these things.
- similar to
Laura’s test was similar to mine.
10. Adjective + with – indicates the cause of an emotional state or a connection between things or people.
Examples:
- angry with
Linda is always angry with me.
- furious with
I have no idea why he is furious with you.
- annoyed with,
I am annoyed with my brother for lying to me.
- fed up with
My mother is fed up with cleaning my room every day.
- bored with
I am bored with history movies.
- fine with
He was fine with moving to another town.
- OK with
Are you OK with buying this car?
- disappointed with
David is very disappointed with his new job.
- pleased with
I am very pleased with the money I earned by now.
With is used in passive sentences when it describes the states of people or things:
- crowded with
The bus is usually crowded with people in the morning.
- filled with
The cake is filled with vanilla and chocolate.