Ampersand Lab

Foundation grammar · Lesson 112 · A2

afraid of ..., good at ... etc. of/at/for etc. (prepositions) + -ing

Many adjectives take a fixed preposition: afraid of, angry with someone, angry about something, different from, fed up with, full of, good at, interested in, married to, kind of someone to, kind to someone, sorry about, sorry for. After any preposition, a verb takes -ing: good at cooking, without saying goodbye.

Start the lesson

12Steps · about 24 minutes

In this lesson

adjective + prepositionA6 screens of questions
preposition + -ingB2 screens of questions

Point A of 2

adjective + preposition

phrase example
afraid of ... Are you afraid of heights?
angry with somebody Why are you angry with me? What have I done?
angry about something Are you still angry about the broken vase?
different from ... Leo is very different from his brother.
fed up with ... I'm fed up with this weather. I need some sunshine. (= I've had enough of it)
full of ... The bus was full of schoolchildren.
good at ... / bad at ... Are you good at art? / Sam is really bad at remembering birthdays.
interested in ... I'm not interested in fashion.
married to ... Kate is married to a pilot. (= her husband is a pilot)
nice / kind of somebody to ... It was kind of you to drive me home. Thanks a lot.
(be) nice / kind to somebody Our new neighbour is lovely. She's always very kind to us.
sorry about something I'm afraid we're fully booked. I'm sorry about that.
sorry for doing something I'm sorry for not ringing you back. (or I'm sorry I didn't ring you back.)
  • Are you afraid of heights?
  • Leo is very different from his brother.
  • Kate is married to a pilot.

Point A · Exercise 112.1 · part 1 of 2

Read each scene and complete the sentence with a preposition (of, in etc.).

  1. Example

    A man backing away nervously from a barking dog.

    He's afraid of dogs.

    AnswerHe's afraid of dogs.

  2. A girl peering into a microscope, surrounded by science books.

    She's interested science.

  3. A wedding photo: a woman next to her husband, who is wearing his rugby shirt.

    She's married a rugby player.

  4. A woman chatting easily in French, Italian and German.

    She's very good languages.

  5. A man staring gloomily out of the window at the rain, for the tenth day running.

    He's fed up the weather.

Point A · Exercise 112.1 · part 2 of 2

Read each scene and complete the sentence with a preposition (of, in etc.).

  1. A shop assistant asks, "Can I help you?" The customer smiles.

    "Oh, that's very kind you."

Point A · Exercise 112.2 · part 1 of 3

Put in the right preposition (of, in, with etc.).

  1. Example

    I'm not interested in fashion.

    AnswerI'm not interested in fashion.

  2. I'm not very good fashion.

  3. I like Omar. He's always very kind me.

  4. I'm sorry your fence. The ball went over by accident.

  5. She's really brave. She isn't afraid anything.

Point A · Exercise 112.2 · part 2 of 3

Put in the right preposition (of, in, with etc.).

  1. It was really nice Sam to lend us his van.

  2. Shopping today is very different shopping thirty years ago.

  3. Are you interested history?

  4. Lots of people are afraid snakes.

Point A · Exercise 112.2 · part 3 of 3

Put in the right preposition (of, in, with etc.).

  1. Kate was angry what happened at the meeting.

  2. Don't try to lift that crate. It's full tools.

  3. I'm sorry shouting you this morning.

Point A · Exercise 112.5

Write sentences about yourself. Use the words in brackets. The answers below are examples; yours will be different.

  1. Example

    (interested)

    I'm interested in photography.

    Example answerI'm interested in photography.

  2. (afraid)

  3. (not very good)

  4. (not interested)

  5. (fed up)

Point B of 2

preposition + -ing

After a preposition (at, with, for, of, without, after etc.), a verb ends in -ing.

... preposition -ing
I'm not very good at singing in public.
Are you fed up with eating the same thing every day?
I'm sorry for not ringing you back.
Mia is thinking of learning to drive.
Josh left without saying goodbye. (= he didn't say goodbye)
After finishing the shopping, they went for a coffee.
  • I'm not very good at singing in public.
  • Josh left without saying goodbye.

Point B · Exercise 112.3

Complete the sentences. Use the words in brackets: adjective + preposition + -ing.

  1. Example

    I'm not very good at singing in public. (good / sing)

    AnswerI'm not very good at singing in public.

  2. I wanted to go to the museum, but Leo wasn't . (interested / go)

  3. Ruth isn't very up early. (good / get)

  4. Come on, let's go! I'm . (fed up / wait)

  5. I'm you so late at night. (sorry / ring)

Point B · Exercise 112.4

Complete the sentences. Use without + -ing.

  1. Example

    (Josh left / he didn't say goodbye) Josh left ...

    Josh left without saying goodbye.

    AnswerJosh left without saying goodbye.

  2. (Mia walked past me / she didn't look at me) Mia walked ...

  3. (Don't sign anything / read it first) Don't ...

  4. (I left the house / I didn't turn off the oven) I ...

Lesson 112 · Result

How you did

Next lesson: listen to ..., look at ... etc. (verb + preposition)Back to the course

–Right

Each point

A. adjective + preposition–Not checkedB. preposition + -ing–Not checked

Practise the words

PrepositionsEvery entry, with examples you can hearExercise setsPrepositions, beginner to advanced