The small words that follow common adjectives
interested in - good at - afraid of
How to use this sheet
Certain adjectives come with a fixed small word after them, and the pair works as a single unit - the small word carries no meaning of its own and cannot be worked out from logic or from your own language. Learn the pair together, as one vocabulary item, the way you would learn a new word. When a verb follows the pair, it takes the -ing form, never the to-form.
| Adjective | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| afraid | of | He's afraid of flying. |
| good | at | She's good at explaining things. |
| bad | at | I'm bad at remembering names. |
| interested | in | Are you interested in photography? |
| responsible | for | Who is responsible for the schedule? |
| proud | of | We're proud of what the team built. |
| married | to | She's married to a doctor. |
| famous | for | The town is famous for its cheese. |
| worried | about | I'm worried about the exam. |
| different | from | The film is very different from the book. |
In use
I've always been interested in old maps. She's really good at making people feel welcome. He's responsible for the whole booking system.
Watch out
She is married with an engineer.
Do not translate the small word from your own language - the English choice rarely matches, and row 7 is the classic trap because most languages use their word for accompaniment there, while English uses a direction word instead. Whenever you learn a new adjective, write down its partner word at the same time; guessing later almost always fails.