In English, many adjectives always take a specific preposition after them. 'Good' takes 'at' — 'I am good at football', never 'good in football' or 'good for football'. 'Interested' takes 'in' — 'She is interested in music', never 'interested of music'. These pairs are called dependent prepositions. They are not predictable from meaning — two similar adjectives can take completely different prepositions. 'Married' takes 'to' (married to my husband), but 'engaged' also takes 'to' (engaged to be married). 'Afraid' takes 'of' (afraid of spiders), but 'worried' takes 'about' (worried about the exam). Students must learn each adjective together with its preposition, as a single unit. This lesson introduces the most common adjective + preposition pairs at A2 level and gives teachers a practical way to drill them into active use.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
He is interested in music. ✓
He is interested of music. ✗
He is interested about music. ✗
I am afraid of spiders. ✓
I am afraid from spiders. ✗
I am afraid about spiders. ✗
Each of these adjectives takes only one preposition after it. Why is it so hard for students to remember which one? And why can we not simply work out the preposition from the meaning?
The choice of preposition after an adjective is not logical — it is a fixed combination settled by use over time. 'At' in 'good at' does not mean the same as 'at' in 'at school'. 'In' in 'interested in' does not mean 'inside'. 'Of' in 'afraid of' does not mean the same as 'of' in 'one of my friends'. The preposition is part of the adjective's fixed pattern, not a separate word with its own meaning. This is why logic does not help — and why students must learn the adjective + preposition as a single chunk. 'Good at', 'interested in', 'afraid of' — these are three-word units, not two words plus a choice. Teaching them as chunks (like 'good_at' spoken as one unit) is the most effective approach.
worried about (= concerned) — I'm worried about my exam.
worried by (= the cause of worry) — I'm worried by the news.
good at (= skilled in) — She's good at maths.
good for (= beneficial) — Fruit is good for you.
good with (= able to handle) — He's good with children.
angry at / angry with (= at a person) — She's angry with me.
angry about (= about a situation) — She's angry about the decision.
Why do some adjectives have more than one preposition? And how should students choose the right one?
A few adjectives — 'good', 'worried', 'angry', 'sorry' — can take different prepositions depending on what follows and what meaning is intended. 'Good at' is about ability. 'Good for' is about benefit. 'Good with' is about handling something (usually people or animals). These are three different fixed patterns — not a choice a speaker makes each time, but three different idioms. Students need to learn the patterns separately: 'good at + activity', 'good for + person/thing', 'good with + person/animal'. This is more memorisation, but it is also how native speakers handle it — not by thinking, but by having the right chunk ready. At A2 level, teaching the most common version of each adjective ('good at', 'worried about') is enough; the other versions can come later.
different FROM (not 'different than') — Her style is different from mine.
married TO (not 'married with') — He is married to a teacher.
full OF (not 'full with') — The room is full of books.
famous FOR (not 'famous of') — Paris is famous for its food.
kind TO (not 'kind with') — Be kind to animals.
ready FOR (not 'ready of') — Are you ready for the exam?
These particular adjectives cause trouble for learners from many different first languages. Why?
Each of these adjectives takes a preposition that does not match the most common translation from other languages. Many languages use 'with' for 'married', 'than' for 'different', 'of' for 'full'. English uses 'to', 'from', and 'of' respectively. Students who translate directly from their first language almost always produce errors here. The solution is explicit teaching and drilling — students need to meet 'different from' as a fixed chunk many times before it overwrites the translated version from their first language. Writing the adjective + preposition together on the board, saying them together, writing them together in notebooks — the more contexts the pairing appears in, the more likely the correct version becomes automatic.
| Adjective | Preposition | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| good | at | She is good at maths. | 'Good at' = skilled in. Different from 'good for' (beneficial) and 'good with' (able to handle). |
| interested | in | He is interested in history. | 'Interested of' is a very common error — always 'in'. |
| afraid | of | The child is afraid of dogs. | 'Afraid from' is wrong — always 'of'. Also: 'scared of', 'frightened of'. |
| proud | of | I am proud of my students. | 'Proud of' for people, work, achievements. Not 'proud about' or 'proud for'. |
| worried | about | She is worried about her exam. | 'Worried about' = concerned about something. 'Worried by' = made anxious by a specific cause. |
| excited | about | The children are excited about the trip. | 'Excited for' is possible but 'excited about' is more standard for events and situations. |
| different | from | Her accent is different from mine. | 'Different than' is American but not standard British. 'Different to' also exists but 'from' is safest. |
| married | to | He is married to a doctor. | 'Married with' is a very common error — always 'to'. 'Engaged to' follows the same pattern. |
| kind | to | Please be kind to the new student. | 'Kind to' (about behaviour towards someone). 'Kind of' is a different phrase (a type of). |
| ready | for | Are you ready for the lesson? | 'Ready for + noun' or 'ready to + verb'. Not 'ready of'. |
| famous | for | Nigeria is famous for its music. | 'Famous for + reason'. 'Famous as' is used with a role (famous as a writer). |
| full | of | The glass is full of water. | 'Full with' is a direct translation from other languages but wrong in English — always 'of'. |
NOTE 1 — Adjective + preposition is a chunk: Teach these pairs as a single unit, not as two separate words. When a student meets 'interested', they should learn it with 'in' attached. When they write it in their vocabulary notebook, the preposition should be there too. Students who memorise chunks retrieve them automatically; students who memorise the adjective alone have to guess the preposition every time.
NOTE 2 — Translation traps: Some adjective + preposition pairs are predictable for many students; others are not. 'Married to' (not 'married with'), 'different from' (not 'different than' or 'different of'), 'full of' (not 'full with'), 'worried about' (not 'worried for') — these four cause trouble for students from many first languages. They need focused drilling.
NOTE 3 — Same adjective, different prepositions: A few common adjectives take different prepositions to show different meanings. 'Good at' (ability) / 'good for' (beneficial) / 'good with' (handle well). 'Angry with a person' / 'angry about a situation'. 'Sorry for a person' (feel pity) / 'sorry about a situation' (apology) / 'sorry to + verb' (regret). For A2 level, teach the most common version first; the others can come at B1.
NOTE 4 — Spoken practice matters most: Adjective + preposition errors are mostly speaking errors — in writing, students have time to check. In speech, the wrong preposition comes out because the right one is not automatic. Oral drilling — repeating 'good at', 'interested in', 'afraid of' in short sentences many times — is more effective than written exercises for fixing these into automatic use.
NOTE 5 — Build a personal chunk list: Each student should keep a list in their vocabulary notebook of every adjective + preposition pair they meet, with an example sentence. Over the term, this list grows into a personal reference. Reviewing it weekly and testing each other in pairs keeps the pairs active.
Adjective + preposition errors are among the most frequent at A2 and B1 levels, and they continue into higher levels if not fixed early. They do not prevent communication — a listener can understand 'I am interested of music' — but they immediately mark the speaker as a non-fluent learner. The good news is that the number of common pairs is small. The 20 or 30 most frequent adjective + preposition pairs cover most everyday situations, and they can be taught systematically over a few lessons. The key principles are: teach them as chunks, drill them orally, and review them regularly until retrieval is automatic. Students who know 'good at' as one unit will never say 'good in'.
Build a classroom adjective + preposition wall. Each time students meet a new pair in reading or class, they add it to the wall: ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITION with a short example. Review the wall at the start of each lesson for two minutes. The repeated exposure — even passive — fixes the pairs into memory more effectively than a single lesson can.
Choose the correct preposition to complete each sentence. Each adjective takes one specific preposition.
Each sentence has a wrong preposition after the adjective. Find the error, write the correct sentence, and explain the rule.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — What is a chunk? (4 min): Write 'good' on the board. Ask students: 'good what?' Elicit 'good at'. Then write 'at' next to 'good' to make 'good at'. Say: this is not two words — it is one chunk. You must always learn them together. Show four more examples: interested in, afraid of, proud of, married to. Students repeat each as one unit.
STEP 2 — Drill the most common pairs (7 min): Write 8 adjective + preposition pairs on the board: good at / interested in / afraid of / proud of / worried about / excited about / different from / married to. Say each pair aloud — students repeat three times. Then call out just the adjective — students supply the preposition. Do this at speed. Errors are corrected immediately.
STEP 3 — Translation traps (6 min): Focus on the four most persistent errors: 'married with' ✗ / 'full with' ✗ / 'different than' ✗ / 'interested of' ✗. Write each wrong form, then cross it out and write the correct one underneath. Explain why each is wrong — 'married with' comes from direct translation, 'full with' too, 'different than' is American English only, 'interested of' comes from direct translation. Drill the correct forms three times each.
STEP 4 — Talk about yourself (4 min): Each student produces three true sentences about themselves using three different adjective + preposition pairs. 'I am good at…' / 'I am interested in…' / 'I am afraid of…' etc. Share in pairs. Partner checks: was the preposition correct? This forces active production.
STEP 5 — Review and extend (4 min): Introduce three more pairs students may not know: ready for, famous for, kind to. Students produce a sentence using each. Show the full set of 12 pairs on the board as the reference list. Tell students to add these to their vocabulary notebooks as chunks — adjective + preposition + example sentence together.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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