B1Adjectives

Adjectives with Prepositions

What is it?

Many adjectives are followed by specific prepositions to complete their meaning. For example, "interested IN," "good AT," "afraid OF," "angry ABOUT/WITH." These combinations must be learned because there's often no logical rule—native speakers know them from exposure and practice. Choosing the wrong preposition sounds incorrect even if the meaning is clear.

How to form it

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
interested	interested in music	not interested in music	Are you interested in music?
good	good at sports	not good at sports	Are you good at sports?
afraid	afraid of dogs	not afraid of dogs	Are you afraid of dogs?
angry	angry about/with something	not angry about it	Are you angry about it?
different	different from/to others	not different from others	Is it different from others?
proud	proud of achievements	not proud of it	Are you proud of it?

• interested IN: interested in music, in sports, in learning
• good/bad AT: good at math, bad at singing, terrible at cooking
• afraid/scared OF: afraid of dogs, scared of heights, frightened of spiders
• angry ABOUT (situations) / WITH (people): angry about the delay, angry with him
• different FROM/TO: different from others (FROM is more common)
• proud OF: proud of my children, proud of achievements
• famous FOR: famous for its food, famous for beautiful beaches
• similar TO: similar to mine, similar to that one
• tired OF: tired of waiting, tired of complaints
• married TO: married to John, married to a doctor

When to use it

1
Feelings and interests — use specific prepositions for emotions
"interested in science" / "excited about the trip" / "worried about the test"
2
Abilities — "good at," "bad at," "terrible at" for skills
"good at math" / "bad at cooking" / "terrible at remembering names"
3
Fears — "afraid of," "scared of," "frightened of"
"afraid of dogs" / "scared of heights" / "frightened of spiders"
4
Comparisons — "different from," "similar to," "the same as"
"different from mine" / "similar to yours" / "the same as before"
5
Relationships — "married to," "related to," "connected to"
"married to a teacher" / "related to the problem" / "connected to the internet"

Common mistakes

I am interested on music.

I am interested in music.

'Interested' is always followed by 'in', never 'on'.

She is good in math.

She is good at math.

Use 'at' with 'good' when talking about skills and abilities.

He is afraid from dogs.

He is afraid of dogs.

'Afraid' is always followed by 'of', not 'from'.

This is different of that.

This is different from that.

'Different' is followed by 'from' (or 'to' in British English), not 'of'.

Quick reference

interested IN, excited ABOUT, worried ABOUT
good AT, bad AT, terrible AT (for skills)
afraid OF, scared OF, frightened OF
angry ABOUT (situations), angry WITH (people)
different FROM (or TO), similar TO, the same AS
famous FOR, proud OF, tired OF
married TO, related TO, connected TO

Natural conversation example

Two friends talking about their hobbies and interests

Alex

Are you interested in photography?

Jamie

Yes! I'm really passionate about it. I'm also good at editing photos.

Alex

That's cool! I'm terrible at anything artistic. I'm more interested in sports.

Jamie

What sports are you good at?

Alex

I'm pretty good at tennis, but I'm afraid of water, so no swimming for me!

Jamie

Ha! I'm scared of heights, so I'll never try rock climbing.

Alex

We're all different from each other. That's what makes life interesting!

Practice Exercises

Complete with the correct preposition.

1.
She is interested learning Spanish.
2.
He is good playing guitar.
3.
I am afraid spiders.
4.
This book is different that one.
5.
She is proud her achievements.
6.
The city is famous its architecture.

Adjectives and Adverbs All Topics Comparative Adjectives

Now use Adjectives with Prepositions in real conversation

Grammar sticks when you use it out loud. Practise with an AI tutor who gives you instant feedback.

Speak with AI Tutor