How to Use Adjective + Preposition Combinations Correctly [519]

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In this episode, you’ll learn how adjective and preposition combinations work in real English. Many learners know the adjective but choose the wrong preposition. I show you common combinations, explain how they are used in context, and help you avoid mistakes that make your English sound unnatural. Ideal for intermediate and upper-intermediate learners who want more accurate spoken and written English.

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Transcript

0:08

Hi there, this is Harry. Welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry, where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language, to help you with your conversational skills, your business English skills, interview skills, whatever your goals are, we're here to help. And for those of you and your friends or family who want one-to-one lessons, well, you know what to do. Just get in touch, www.englishlessonviaskype.com and you can apply for a free trial lesson and we'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. The class today we're going to look at in particular at co-locations for any English proficiency exam that you wish to take. So we're going to look at adjectives and the prepositions and the emphasis is going to be on the correct preposition that we use with each of those adjectives. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to go through the list of these adjectives and their prepositions and I'm going to give you an example and hopefully you'll get a better understanding as to how to use them. Okay, so let's start. So accustomed to. He's accustomed to having two cups of coffee in the morning before he leaves for work. So accustomed to, that's what he is used to. He's accustomed to having two cups of coffee in the morning before he leaves for work. Capable of. He's capable of so much more. So the statement on the school report, your son is really good at maths and chemistry, but he's capable of so much more. He needs to apply himself a little better. Capable of. Good at. He's really good at sports. He loves all ball sports. Football, rugby, soccer, whatever it might be. He's really good at sports, but perhaps not so good at something more academic. Good at. Relevant to. This document is relevant to the conversation we had yesterday. I think you'll need it. You'll have to refer to that document when you send the reply. It's relevant to, meaning related or has some connection. Relevant to. Afraid of. He's afraid of his own shadow. This is when somebody's a little bit nervous and they jump or when something happens or they hear a noise. Oh, don't worry, don't mind that dog. He's afraid of his own shadow. If he hears something, he gets a little bit nervous and he starts to bark. Afraid of. And we can also say frightened of, scared of, they mean exactly the same. Afraid of, frightened of, scared of, all using the same preposition. Dependent on. Well, he's dependent on his pension now that he has retired. He's totally dependent on it. He has no other form or source of income. So he's dependent on his pension to pay his rent. He's dependent on his pension to buy his food, to pay for his travel. He's dependent on, he relies on that income, that pension to live day to day. Jealous of. He was always jealous of me when we were young. He was always jealous of me because I was better at sport. He is jealous of his friend because his friend got a new mountain bike and his bike is looking a little bit old and shabby. Jealous of somebody because of something. Responsible to and responsible for. So we have two prepositions here for two different reasons. He's responsible for the marketing and communications and for all the internal communications. He's responsible for that. So that's what he has to do. That's his job. But he can be responsible to the managing director. So he reports directly to the managing director. He is responsible to him. That's who he reports to. But he is responsible for a particular action or a particular activity. Who is responsible for this? says the teacher when she looks at the broken plant on the floor that somebody knocked over. Who is responsible for this? Who did this? Ashamed of. He's ashamed of his parents because of their poor background. He doesn't like people to know that they came from a very, very poor background, that they didn't really have any great wealth. In fact, they had no car for many, many years. So he's ashamed of his parents or ashamed of his background. Famous for, he's famous for scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final. Sir Jeff Hearst, one of the all-time greats of English football, 1966, he scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final at the time against West Germany, now Germany, and he went down in history as one of the most famous players ever. So famous for, famous for scoring a hat-trick, three goals in the final. I remember watching that when I was only a 10-year-old. Yeah, famous for. Proud of. He's proud of his nation. He holds his passport dear to his heart. He's proud of being a Scotsman. He's proud of being a Spanish person. He's proud of being French. So to be proud of something, proud of somebody. Okay. Proud of. Sensitive to. He's very sensitive to criticism. He doesn't like to be criticized openly by people and gets very emotional. He's sensitive to criticism. You can be sensitive to the sunlight. You blink in the sun. You have to wear dark glasses all the time. I hate sunglasses. I don't wear them at all. But some people, their eyes can be very sensitive to bright lights. Aware of. He's aware of his position. He's aware of his weaknesses. Yes, it's always a good thing to be aware of your own weaknesses. We all know what our strengths are, but not all of us know what our weaknesses are. So to be aware of your weaknesses means you can improve. You know what you have to do to improve, to be aware of something full of. Well, we can be full of crap, yeah? So, oh, don't listen to him. He's full of crap. He talks rubbish, yeah? Or he can be full of himself, meaning somebody is a bit arrogant and he's a bit sanctimonious and he thinks he's the better than everybody else. Oh, he's so full of himself. I really hate watching him. I really hate looking at movies with him. He's so full of himself. Ready to and ready for. I'm ready to go whenever you are. I'm ready to leave the minute you tell me. Okay. I'm ready for action. Yeah. I'm fit. I'm healthy. I'm ready for action. When are we going to go and climb that mountain? Let's go. I'm ready for it. I'm ready to do whatever you want. So ready to do something? Ready for a particular line of action. And then finally, typical of. Well, of course, that's typical of him. Whenever you need him, he's never there. Oh, yeah, I'll come and help you. Yeah, I'll be there. Just give me a call. Send him a text message. Oh, look, I'm busy today. So that's typical of him, meaning you really can't rely on him or her. Typical of that particular person. Okay, so there's a list of our adjectives and the prepositions. Let me go through them once more. Accustomed to, capable of, good at, relevant to, afraid of, dependent on, jealous of, responsible to or for, ashamed of, famous for, proud of, sensitive to, aware of, full of, ready to or ready for something, and then typical of. So our collocations, all for those proficiency exams that you might like to do. And it's really important to understand what the adjective means, but more important and as important to understand and remember the preposition that goes with each of those adjectives. So practice them where you can. If you have any problems, check them out in one of your grammar books or come back to me. I'll be happy to help you. And on that point, www.englishlessonviaskype.com, that's where you'll get me. Any comments, anything you want me to include, let me know. I'll be happy to look after it for you. Okay, it's Harry saying goodbye. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Join me again soon.