P r e p o s i t i o n s a f t e r a d j e c t i v e s : a f r a i d o f / f o r , e t c .
Some adjectives are commonly followed by particular prepositions. You can find information
about these in a good dictionary. Here we will look at some adjectives that can be followed by
one preposition or another, depending on the meaning. Study these examples.
afraid + of/for
• Janet had always been afraid of flying.
• They tried to leave the country, afraid for
their own lives.
angry or annoyed + about/with
• She felt a little annoyed about the delay.
(about something)
• I'm not angry with you, Paul.
(with somebody)
answerable + for/to
• She is answerable for (= responsible for)
the money that has disappeared.
• The committee is answerable only to (= has
to explain its actions to) the President.
anxious + about/for
• Ministers are increasingly anxious about
(= worried about) the cost of health care.
• I'm anxious for (= want very much) the
work to be done as soon as possible.
bad or good + at/for
• She's very good/bad at languages. (=
successful)
• You should drink this. It's good/bad for
you. (= healthy or beneficial)
also
good + about/to/with
• She felt good about winning the prize.
(= pleased with herself)
• Tom was good to us (= kind) when times
were hard.
• He's very good with his hands. (= skilful)
concerned + about/with
^ • I'm a little concerned about your exam
• results. (= worried)
• This section of the book is concerned
with (= about) adjectives.
glad + for/of
• I'm very glad for you.
• I'd be glad of some help.
pleased + about/at/with
• Was he pleased about/at the news?
• He's really pleased with the car.
(with something)
• She felt pleased with Paul.
(with somebody)
right + about/for
• You're right about Tom. He is moving to
Spain.
• We're sending her to a school that we
think is right for her.
sorry + about/for
• I'm sorry about giving you such a hard
time.
• I felt really sorry for Susan (= felt
sympathy for her), but what could I do?
D When a verb follows an adjective + preposition it takes an -ing form:
• I don't agree with smacking children if they do something wrong.
• He was famous for holding the world land speed record.
Compare:
• You were right to report them to the police, and
• You were right about seeing Mark in town. He's got a new job there.
• We're anxious to avoid problems, and
• I'm anxious about not having enough time.
A d j e c t i v e s + t h a t - c l a u s e or t o - i n f i n i t i v e
When an adjective follows a linking verb (see Unit 26) with a personal subject (rather than
'It...'; see D below) we can put a number of things after the adjective, including:
, D
adjective +
that-clause (to talk about someone's feeling
or opinion, or about how sure we are of
something)
• He became worried (that) she might leap
out from behind a door.
• She felt certain (that) she'd seen him
before.
to-infinitive
• You're free to leave at any time you want.
• They're very easy to please.
-ing form
• He was busy doing his homework.
examples
afraid, alarmed, amazed, angry, annoyed,
ashamed, astonished, aware, concerned,
delighted, disappointed, glad, (un)happy,
pleased, shocked, sorry, upset, worried;
certain, confident, positive, sure (with the
exception of aware and confident these can
also be followed by a to-infinitive)
(un)able, careful, crazy, curious, difficult,
easy, free, good, hard, impossible, inclined,
nice, prepared, ready, welcome, willing
busy, worth (these can't be followed by a
that-clause or to-infinitive)
Most of the adjectives listed as being followed by a to-infinitive can't be followed by a that-clause.
However, for the adjectives underlined above we can use adjective + to-infinitive + that-clause:
O • She was ready to admit (that) I was right.
• • They were prepared to accept that my idea was a good one.
Sometimes we can use adjective + preposition + -ing form (see Unit 86B) or adjective + toinfinitive
with little difference in meaning:
• He wasn't ashamed of asking for more money. or ...ashamed to ask for more money.
However, in some cases there is a difference. Compare:
• I'm sorry to disturb you. (= I'm disturbing you now) and
• I'm sorry for disturbing you. (= I disturbed you earlier)
It + linking verb + adjective
We can often avoid beginning a sentence with a that-clause or a to-infinitive, by using It...:
• It became clear that I wasn't welcome, [rather than That I wasn't welcome was clear.)
• It is essential to get there early, [rather than To get there early is essential.)
Notice that we can put of + subject or for + subject between the adjective and a to-infinitive:
• It was generous of her to take on the job. (or She was generous to take on the job.)
• It seemed difficult for him to walk.
Other adjectives which take of + subject in this pattern include careless, greedy, kind, nice, silly,
wrong. Those which take for + subject include easy, essential, hard, important, impossible,
necessary, unacceptable, vital.
We can also use it + adjective after verbs such as believe, consider, feel, find, think before a thatclause
or to-infinitive:
• I thought it dreadful that Liz was asked to resign.
• They consider it wrong to smoke in public places.
C o m p a r i s o n w i t h a d j e c t i v e s ( l ) : - e r / m o r e . . . ;
e n o u g h , s u f f i c i e n t l y , t o o ; e t c .
-er/more...;-est/most...
We usually add the ending -er to one-syllable adjectives to make their comparative forms and
-est to make their superlative forms. For adjectives with three or more syllables we usually add
more/less and most/least.
Some adjectives with two syllables are only used or are most commonly used with more/less and
most/least, particularly participle adjectives (e.g. pleased, worried, boring) (see Unit 85);
adjectives ending in -ful and -less (e.g. careful, careless); afraid, alike, alert, ashamed, alone,
aware; and also cautious, certain, complex, confident, eager, exact, formal, frequent, modern,
recent. Most other adjectives with two syllables can take either form.
9Some adjectives have a comparative or superlative meaning so they are rarely used with
-er/-est or more/less/ most/least. These include complete, equal, favourite, ideal, unique.
An exception: 'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.'
(George Orwell: Animal Farm)
Enough, sufficiently, too
We use enough before nouns (e.g. 'Is there enough bread?') and after adjectives (and adverbs):
• The house was comfortable enough but not luxurious, (not ...enough comfortable...)
• We are not in a strong enough financial position to cut taxes, (not ...an enough strong...)
Compare the position of enough in these sentences with adjective + noun:
• I haven't got big enough nails for the job. (= the nails that I've got aren't big enough) and
• I haven't got enough big nails for the job. (= I've got some big nails, but not enough)
We use sufficiently before adjectives with a meaning similar to enough. Sufficiently is often
preferred in more formal contexts:
© • The policies of the parties were not sufficiently different, (or ...not different enough.)
• • Things would be easier if we only had a sufficiently simple system, (or ...a simple enough
system.)
Study these sentences with adjective + enough and too + adjective:
• The beams have to be strong enough to support the roof.
• She was too ashamed to admit her mistake.
• The garage was just about big enough for two cars to fit in.
• The suitcase was too small (for him) to get all his clothes in.
<j)We talk about an action in the to-infinitive clause. If we need to mention the things or people
'involved, we do this with for... .
In rather formal English we can use too + adjective + a/an + noun:
• I hope you haven't had too tiring a day. (not ...a too tiring day.)
(In a less formal style we might say 'I hope your day hasn't been too tiring.')
The sooner the better
To say that as one thing changes, another thing also changes, we can use sentences like:
• The better the joke (is), the louder the laugh (is).
• The longer Sue stays in Canada, the less likely she will ever go back to England.
• It almost seems that the more expensive the wedding, the shorter the marriage!
. a s . . . a s ;
s o . . . a s t o , e t c .
As...as
We use as... as with an adjective or adverb in between to say that something or someone is like
something or someone else, or that one situation is like another:
• Was the film as funny as his last one?
• Andrew came round to my flat as quickly as he could.
Negative forms of sentences like this can use either not as or not so. In formal speech and
writing it is more common to use less than:
• The gap between the sides is not as wide as it was. (or ...is less wide than it was.)
• The bees are plentiful, but not so common as last summer, (or ...but less common than last
summer.)
• Some people find cooking easy, but others are not as/so fortunate (as these).
We use not so rather than not as in a number of common expressions. For example: I'm not so
sure; It's (= the situation is) not so bad; Not so loud! (= be more quiet); He's not so good (= not
very well).
If you put a countable noun between the adjective and the second as, you should use a/an in
front of the noun (if the noun is singular):
n • Despite his disability, he tried to lead as normal a life as possible.
• • She was as patient a teacher as anyone could have had.
The negative form of sentences like this can use either not as or sometimes not such:
• He's not as good a player as he used to be.
• He's not such a good player as he used to be. (Notice the different word order.)
• They're not such terrible children as we'd expected. (We don't use not as with plural nouns.)
We can use how, so and too followed by an adjective in a similar way:
• How significant a role did he play in your life?
• It's not quite so straightforward a problem as it might at first seem.
• 'Conspiracy' is perhaps too strong a word.
• How big a piece do you want?
as...as is also used in sentences with much and many to talk about quantities (see Unit 64):
• She earns at least as much as Mark, and probably more.
• London has twice as many banks as the rest of south-east England.
We also use as much/many as or as little/few as (see Unit 68) to say that a quantity or amount is
larger or smaller than expected. Many and few are used before numbers; much and little are
used with amounts such as $5 and 20%, and distances such as 3 metres:
a • There is a small number involved, possibly as few as a hundred, (not ...as little as...)
• • Prices have increased by as much as 300 per cent.
So...that;so...asto
We can use so followed by an adjective or an adverb and a that-clause in sentences such as:
• The recipe was so simple that even I could cook it. (= because the recipe was so simple, even
I could cook it)
• He was walking so slowly that before too long we caught him up. (= because he was
walking so slowly...)
Less commonly we use so followed by an adjective and as to with a similar meaning:
• The difference was so small as to not be worth arguing about. (= because the difference was
so small, it wasn't worth arguing about

Correct:
I'm an afraid boy of the lion.