Unit 130 · Prepositions
Adjective + preposition 1
Study
nice / kind / good / generous / polite / honest / stupid / silly etc. OF somebody (to do something)
Thank you. It was very nice of you to help me.
It was stupid of me to go out without a coat in such cold weather.
(be) nice / kind / good / generous / polite / rude / friendly / cruel etc. TO somebody
They have always been very nice to me. (not with me)
Why were you so unfriendly to Lucy?
angry / annoyed / furious / upset ABOUT something
WITH somebody FOR doing something
There's no point in getting angry about things that don't matter.
Are you annoyed with me for being late?
Lisa is upset about not being invited to the party.
excited / worried / nervous / happy etc. ABOUT something
Are you nervous about the exam?
pleased / satisfied / happy / delighted / disappointed WITH something you get or experience
They were delighted with the present I gave them.
Were you happy with your exam results?
surprised / shocked / amazed / astonished / upset AT / BY something
Everybody was surprised at the news. or … by the news.
I hope you weren't shocked by what I said. or … at what I said.
impressed WITH / BY somebody/something
I'm very impressed with (or by) her English. It's very good.
fed up / bored WITH something
I don't enjoy my job any more. I'm fed up with it. / I'm bored with it.
tired OF something
Come on, let's go! I'm tired of waiting.
sorry ABOUT a situation or something that happened
I'm sorry about the mess. I'll clear it up later.
Sorry about last night. (= Sorry about something that happened last night)
sorry FOR / ABOUT something you did or caused
I'm sorry for shouting at you yesterday. (or sorry about shouting)
Sorry for the delay. (or Sorry about the delay)
You can also say 'I'm sorry I (did something)':
I'm sorry I shouted at you yesterday.
feel / be sorry FOR somebody in a bad situation
I feel sorry for Mark. He's had a lot of bad luck. (not I feel sorry about Mark)
→ Preposition + -ing → Unit 60 · Adjective + to … → Unit 65 · sorry to / sorry for … → Unit 66C · Adjective + preposition 2 → Unit 131
Exercises (3)
Complete the sentences using nice of …, kind of … etc.
- 1Tom offered to drive me to the airport.(nice) That was nice of him. example
- 2I needed money and Lisa gave me some.(generous) That her.
- 3They didn't invite us to their party.(not very nice) That wasn't .
- 4Can I help you with your luggage?(very kind) That's you.
- 5Kevin never says 'thank you'.(not very polite) That isn't him.
- 6They've had an argument and now they refuse to speak to each other.(a bit childish) That's a bit them.
Complete the sentences using an adjective + preposition. Choose from: amazed angry bored careless excited impressed kind nervous
- 1Are you nervous about the exam? example
- 2Thank you for all you've done. You've been very me.
- 3What have I done wrong? Why are you me?
- 4You must be very your trip next week. It sounds really great.
- 5I wasn't the service in the restaurant. We had to wait ages.
- 6Ben isn't very happy at college. He says he's the course he's doing.
- 7I'd never seen so many people before. I was the crowds.
- 8It was you to leave the car unlocked while you were shopping.
Put in the correct preposition.
- 1They were delighted with the present I gave them. example
- 2It was nice you to come and see me when I was ill.
- 3Why are you always so rude people? Why can't you be more polite?
- 4We always have the same food every day. I'm fed up it.
- 5We had a good holiday, but we were disappointed the hotel.
- 6I can't understand people who are cruel animals.
- 7I was surprised the way he behaved. It was completely out of character.
- 8I've been trying to learn Japanese, but I'm not very satisfied my progress.
- 9Tanya doesn't look very well. I'm worried her.
- 10I'm sorry yesterday. I completely forgot we'd arranged to meet.
- 11There's no point in feeling sorry yourself. It won't help you.
- 12Are you still upset what I said to you yesterday?
- 13Some people say Kate is unfriendly, but she's always been very nice me.
- 14I'm tired doing the same thing every day. I need a change.
- 15We interviewed ten people for the job, and we weren't impressed any of them.
- 16Vicky is annoyed me because I didn't agree with her.
- 17I'm sorry the smell in this room. I've just finished painting it.
- 18I was shocked what I saw. I'd never seen anything like it before.
- 19Jack is sorry what he did. He won't do it again.
- 20The hotel was incredibly expensive. I was amazed the price of a room.
- 21Paul made the wrong decision. It was honest him to admit it.
- 22You've been very generous me. You've helped me a lot.
- 23Our neighbours were very angry the noise we made.
- 24Our neighbours were furious us making so much noise.