🎨 Grammar · Adjectives
Adjective + Preposition (Afraid Of, Good At)
Certain adjectives always pair with the same preposition — learn the fixed combinations that make your English sound natural.
Grammar › Adjectives › Adjective + Preposition (Afraid Of, Good At)
The rule in one sentenceMany English adjectives are followed by one fixed preposition — afraid of, good at, interested in, famous for — and there’s no logical reason why, so you simply have to learn each pair as a single unit.
Why adjectives need a “partner” preposition
In English, many adjectives are almost always followed by the same preposition, and that preposition doesn’t always translate literally from other languages. In Rome, Open City, Pina isn’t “afraid from” the Gestapo — she’s afraid of them. Giulietta Masina isn’t “good in” accents — she’s good at them. These pairs are fixed: change the preposition and the sentence sounds wrong, even when the meaning is obvious.
There’s no single grammar rule that predicts which preposition goes with which adjective — this is a case where you simply learn each pair as a block, the same way you’d learn a new word. The good news: a small group of prepositions (of, at, in, for, about, with, to) covers almost every common adjective, so once you know the main groups, new adjectives usually slot into a pattern you already recognise.
🎬 Compare: “Coach Bombay is good with kids in the Mighty Ducks films” (skilled at handling them) vs. “Goldberg is good at saves” (skilled at a task or subject).
Similar-sounding adjectives can pair with completely different prepositions and shift the meaning — that’s exactly why they need to be learned individually.
What follows the preposition matters too. It can be a noun (Away from Her is good at capturing quiet grief), a pronoun (interested in it), or a verb — but that verb must be in the -ing form, never the infinitive: My Winnipeg is famous for blending fact and fiction, not “famous for blend”.
Learning these pairs well is a genuine B1 milestone, because dropping or swapping the preposition is one of the most common ways learners sound unnatural, even when every other word in the sentence is correct.
How to build it
Adjective + of
Sigourney Weaver’s character is afraid of the alien.
Roberto Rossellini is proud of directing Rome, Open City.
Younger viewers can be scared of The Ring.
Adjective + at
Giulietta Masina is good at accents.
Guy Maddin is famously good at blending silent-film style with modern storytelling.
The boys in The Sandlot are bad at keeping their baseball away from the dog next door.
Adjective + in / about
Michelangelo Antonioni is interested in modern alienation and architecture.
Fans got excited about the new Man with a Movie Camera trailer.
Critics were worried about the Free Willy sequel before release.
Adjective + for / to
Robert Bresson is famous for directing Pickpocket.
Audiences are grateful for Cosmopolis’s biting satire of Wall Street.
Sophia Loren is married to Carlo Ponti.
When to use which
Adjective + preposition + noun
- Naming the object of a feeling: Anakin Skywalker is afraid of the dark side.
- Naming what someone is skilled at: Lin Manuel Miranda’s biopic shows he’s talented at rhyming lyrics.
- Naming who someone is similar to or married to: Chris Hemsworth is similar to his brother Liam in looks.
Adjective + preposition + -ing verb
- Describing an activity someone is interested in: Sarah Polley is interested in directing stories about women.
- Describing what someone is good or bad at doing: Ralph Macchio is good at performing his own stunts in The Karate Kid Part II.
- Describing what someone is famous for doing: Sergei Eisenstein is famous for pioneering film montage.
Signal phrases: learn these pairs as one unit
These fixed combinations turn up constantly — memorise them together, never separately.
Visual guide
Teacher Teddy’s illustrated guide to this rule is being drawn — the full swipe-through infographic will appear here soon.
Common mistakes
❌ Ariel is afraid from the sea witch in The Little Mermaid.
✅ Ariel is afraid of the sea witch in The Little Mermaid.
“Afraid” always pairs with “of”, never “from”.
❌ Lin-Manuel Miranda is good in writing songs.
✅ Lin-Manuel Miranda is good at writing songs.
“Good” pairs with “at” for skills, not “in”.
❌ Jean-Pierre Léaud is interested for French New Wave cinema.
✅ Jean-Pierre Léaud is interested in French New Wave cinema.
“Interested” always takes “in”, never “for”.
❌ My Winnipeg is famous to blending fact and fiction.
✅ My Winnipeg is famous for blending fact and fiction.
“Famous” takes “for”, not “to”.
Exceptions & tricky cases
Four cases where the “one fixed preposition” rule gets more interesting — worth knowing at B1.
1. Some adjectives change meaning with a different preposition. “Good at” is about skill; “good with” is about handling people or things.
✅ “Coach Bombay is good with kids.” ✅ “Goldberg is good at saves.”
2. The verb after a preposition is always “-ing”, never the infinitive. This trips up even confident B1 learners.
✅ “Fans of Guy Maddin are keen on revisiting The Saddest Music in the World.” Not “keen on revisit”.
3. “Married to” is fixed, even though “with” seems logical. There’s no shortcut here — you simply have to know it.
✅ “George Clooney is married to Amal Clooney.” Not “married with”.
4. The preposition disappears before a “that” clause. When a full clause follows instead of a noun, the preposition is usually dropped.
✅ “Henri-Georges Clouzot was worried that audiences would guess the twist in Les Diaboliques.” Not “worried about that”.
Practice: choose the right preposition
Eight quick questions. Pick the answer you’d actually say — you get the explanation either way.
1. Ivan is ___ the soldiers in Ivan’s Childhood.
“Afraid” always pairs with “of”.
2. Lady Gaga is ___ singing and acting.
“Good” pairs with “at” for skills.
3. Jean-Pierre Léaud is ___ playing rebellious young characters.
“Interested” always takes “in”.
4. Robert Bresson is ___ directing spare, minimalist dramas.
“Famous” takes “for”, not “to”.
5. Coach Bombay is ___ kids in the Mighty Ducks films.
“Good with” describes handling people or animals well, unlike “good at” for skills.
6. George Clooney is ___ Amal Clooney.
“Married to” is fixed, even though “with” might seem logical.
7. Critics were ___ the slow pacing of Batman v Superman.
“Bored” pairs with “by” when something directly causes the boredom.
8. Henri-Georges Clouzot was ___ audiences would guess the twist in Les Diaboliques.
The preposition drops before a “that” clause.
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