Adjectives that take fixed prepositions: kind of you, rude to somebody, angry about something, annoyed with somebody, pleased with, surprised at or by, tired of, and the uses of sorry about and sorry for.
A nice of you, nice to me
nice / kind / good / generous / polite / honest / stupid / silly of somebody (to do something). This judges a single action.
(be) nice / kind / good / generous / polite / rude / friendly / cruel to somebody. This describes how somebody treats a person.
- Thanks for the lift. It was really kind of you to come out in the rain.
- It was silly of me to leave my wallet on the bus.
- The staff at the surgery have always been lovely to my mum. (not with my mum)
- Why were you so rude to the waiter?
B adjective + about, adjective + with
| Adjective | Preposition |
|---|---|
| angry / annoyed / furious / upset | about something, with somebody for doing something |
| excited / worried / nervous / happy | about something |
| pleased / satisfied / happy / delighted / disappointed | with something you get or experience |
- There's no point getting upset about a parking ticket.
- Is your dad still annoyed with you for crashing his car?
- Ellie is upset about not being picked for the team.
- Are you excited about the holiday?
- My nan was delighted with the scarf we bought her.
- Were you happy with the way the haircut turned out?
C adjective + at, by, with, of
surprised / shocked / amazed / astonished / upset at or by something
impressed with or by somebody or something
fed up / bored with something
tired of something
- We were all surprised at the result. / ... by the result.
- I was shocked by the price of a coffee at the station. / ... at the price.
- I'm really impressed with your cooking. / ... by your cooking.
- I've had the same lunch every day for a month. I'm fed up with it.
- Hurry up. I'm tired of waiting in this queue.
D sorry about, sorry for
sorry about a situation or something that happened.
sorry for or about something you did or caused. You can also say I'm sorry I (did something).
feel / be sorry for somebody in a bad situation. Feeling sorry about a person is not something English allows, however much they may deserve it.
- Sorry about the noise. The builders finish at four.
- Sorry about Saturday. (= sorry about what happened on Saturday)
- I'm sorry for being so grumpy this morning. / I'm sorry about being so grumpy ...
- Sorry for the wait. / Sorry about the wait.
- I'm sorry I was so grumpy this morning.
- I feel sorry for Adam. His car's been broken into twice this month. (not sorry about Adam)
Exercises
130.1 Complete the sentences using nice of, kind of and so on, with the adjective in brackets.
Shaun offered to feed our cat while we were away. (nice) That was nice of him.
That was nice of him.
I was short of money and my aunt lent me some. (generous) That was .
That was generous of her.
Our neighbours had a party and didn't invite us. (not very nice) That wasn't .
That wasn't very nice of them.
"Shall I carry those boxes upstairs for you?" (very kind) That's .
That's very kind of you.
Jordan never holds the door open for anybody. (not very polite) That isn't .
That isn't very polite of him.
My two brothers fell out over a board game and haven't spoken for a week. (a bit childish) That's a bit .
That's a bit childish of them.
130.2 Complete the sentences using an adjective and a preposition. Choose from these adjectives.
amazedangryboredcarelessexcitedimpressedkindnervous
Are you nervous about the driving test tomorrow?
Are you nervous about the driving test tomorrow?
Thanks for looking after the kids. You've been really us.
Thanks for looking after the kids. You've been really kind to us.
What's the matter? Why are you so me?
What's the matter? Why are you so angry with me?
You must be really the concert on Saturday. You've been waiting months for it.
You must be really excited about the concert on Saturday. You've been waiting months for it.
I wasn't the hotel. The room was tiny and the shower barely worked.
I wasn't impressed with the hotel. The room was tiny and the shower barely worked.
Callum doesn't want to stay in his job. He says he's doing the same thing every day.
Callum doesn't want to stay in his job. He says he's bored with doing the same thing every day.
I'd never seen the sea before. I was how big it was.
I'd never seen the sea before. I was amazed at how big it was.
It was you to leave the back door open all night.
It was careless of you to leave the back door open all night.
130.3 Put in the correct preposition.
My grandparents were thrilled with the photo album we made them.
My grandparents were thrilled with the photo album we made them.
It was good you to visit me in hospital.
It was good of you to visit me in hospital.
Why are you so rude your sister? She's only trying to help.
Why are you so rude to your sister? She's only trying to help.
It's rained every day for three weeks. I'm fed up it.
It's rained every day for three weeks. I'm fed up with it.
The wedding was lovely, but we were a bit disappointed the food.
The wedding was lovely, but we were a bit disappointed with the food.
I can't understand anyone who is cruel horses.
I can't understand anyone who is cruel to horses.
We were all surprised his decision. He'd always loved that job.
We were all surprised at his decision. He'd always loved that job.
I've been practising the guitar for months, but I'm not very satisfied my progress.
I've been practising the guitar for months, but I'm not very satisfied with my progress.
Dad hasn't been eating properly. I'm worried him.
Dad hasn't been eating properly. I'm worried about him.
I'm sorry Thursday. I completely forgot about your gig.
I'm sorry about Thursday. I completely forgot about your gig.
There's no use feeling sorry yourself. Get up and try again.
There's no use feeling sorry for yourself. Get up and try again.
Are you still upset what happened at the party?
Are you still upset about what happened at the party?
People say Mr Hughes is strict, but he's always been very friendly me.
People say Mr Hughes is strict, but he's always been very friendly to me.
I'm tired eating pasta every night. Can we have something else?
I'm tired of eating pasta every night. Can we have something else?
We saw six flats yesterday, and we weren't impressed any of them.
We saw six flats yesterday, and we weren't impressed with any of them.
Rachel is annoyed me because I forgot her birthday.
Rachel is annoyed with me because I forgot her birthday.
I'm sorry the state of the kitchen. We've just had the builders in.
I'm sorry about the state of the kitchen. We've just had the builders in.
I was shocked the amount of litter on the beach.
I was shocked by the amount of litter on the beach.
Toby is sorry breaking the window. He's offered to pay for it.
Toby is sorry for breaking the window. He's offered to pay for it.
The tickets cost ninety pounds each. I was astonished the price.
The tickets cost ninety pounds each. I was astonished at the price.
Owen got the directions wrong. It was honest him to admit it.
Owen got the directions wrong. It was honest of him to admit it.
You've been very generous me this year. Thank you.
You've been very generous to me this year. Thank you.
The people downstairs were very angry the water coming through their ceiling.
The people downstairs were very angry about the water coming through their ceiling.
The people downstairs were furious us flooding their kitchen.
The people downstairs were furious with us for flooding their kitchen.