Ampersand Lab

Intermediate grammar · Lesson 130 · B1

Adjective + preposition 1

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.

Start the lesson

18Steps · about 35 minutes

In this lesson

nice of you, nice to meA2 screens of questions
adjective + about, adjective + withB1 screen of questions
adjective + at, by, with, ofC2 screens of questions
sorry about, sorry forD1 screen of questions
Put it together+6 screens of mixed questions

Point A of 4

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?

Point A · Exercise 130.1 · part 1 of 2

Complete the sentences using nice of, kind of and so on, with the adjective in brackets.

  1. Example

    Shaun offered to feed our cat while we were away. (nice) That was nice of him.

    AnswerThat was nice of him.

  2. I was short of money and my aunt lent me some. (generous) That was .

  3. Our neighbours had a party and didn't invite us. (not very nice) That wasn't .

  4. "Shall I carry those boxes upstairs for you?" (very kind) That's .

  5. Jordan never holds the door open for anybody. (not very polite) That isn't .

Point A · Exercise 130.1 · part 2 of 2

Complete the sentences using nice of, kind of and so on, with the adjective in brackets.

  1. My two brothers fell out over a board game and haven't spoken for a week. (a bit childish) That's a bit .

Point B of 4

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?

Point B · Extra practice

Put in about or with.

  1. Dad is still annoyed me for crashing his car.

  2. There's no point getting upset a parking ticket.

  3. Are you excited the holiday?

Point C of 4

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.

Point C · Exercise 130.2 · part 1 of 2

Complete the sentences using an adjective and a preposition. Choose from these adjectives.

Use these

amazedangryboredcarelessexcitedimpressedkindnervous

  1. Example

    Are you nervous about the driving test tomorrow?

    AnswerAre you nervous about the driving test tomorrow?

  2. Thanks for looking after the kids. You've been really us.

  3. What's the matter? Why are you so me?

  4. You must be really the concert on Saturday. You've been waiting months for it.

  5. I wasn't the hotel. The room was tiny and the shower barely worked.

Point C · Exercise 130.2 · part 2 of 2

Complete the sentences using an adjective and a preposition. Choose from these adjectives.

Use these

amazedangryboredcarelessexcitedimpressedkindnervous

  1. Callum doesn't want to stay in his job. He says he's doing the same thing every day.

  2. I'd never seen the sea before. I was how big it was.

  3. It was you to leave the back door open all night.

Point D of 4

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)

Point D · Extra practice

Put in about or for. Sometimes both are right.

  1. Sorry the noise. The builders finish at four.

  2. I'm sorry being so grumpy this morning.

  3. Sorry Saturday. I was ill.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 1 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. Example

    My grandparents were thrilled with the photo album we made them.

    AnswerMy grandparents were thrilled with the photo album we made them.

  2. It was good you to visit me in hospital.

  3. Why are you so rude your sister? She's only trying to help.

  4. It's rained every day for three weeks. I'm fed up it.

  5. The wedding was lovely, but we were a bit disappointed the food.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 2 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. I can't understand anyone who is cruel horses.

  2. We were all surprised his decision. He'd always loved that job.

  3. I've been learning Italian for a year, but I'm not entirely satisfied how far I've got.

  4. Dad hasn't been eating properly. I'm worried him.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 3 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. I'm sorry Thursday. I completely forgot about your gig.

  2. There's no use feeling sorry yourself. Get up and try again.

  3. Are you still upset what happened at the party?

  4. People say Mr Hughes is strict, but he's always been very friendly me.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 4 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. I'm tired eating pasta every night. Can we have something else?

  2. We tried four restaurants on holiday, but not one of them really impressed us. We weren't impressed the food anywhere.

  3. Rachel is annoyed me because I forgot her birthday.

  4. I'm sorry the state of the kitchen. We've just had the builders in.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 5 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. I was shocked the amount of litter on the beach.

  2. Toby is sorry breaking the window. He's offered to pay for it.

  3. The tickets cost ninety pounds each. I was astonished the price.

  4. Owen broke the vase. It was decent him to own up.

Put it together · Exercise 130.3 · part 6 of 6

Put in the correct preposition.

  1. You've been very generous me this year. Thank you.

  2. The people downstairs were very angry the water coming through their ceiling.

  3. The people downstairs were furious us flooding their kitchen.

Lesson 130 · Result

How you did

Next lesson: Adjective + preposition 2Back to the course

–Right

Each point

A. nice of you, nice to me–Not checkedB. adjective + about, adjective + with–Not checkedC. adjective + at, by, with, of–Not checkedD. sorry about, sorry for–Not checkedPut it together–Not checked

Practise the words

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