e.g. It was rude of him to leave so suddenly.

She was rude to him for no reason.

¨ used alone, with ‘about’ to specify a thing or ‘with’ to specify a person

angry annoyed

delighted disappointed

fed up furious

happy upset

e.g. She was still angry about the result.

They're getting pretty fed up with him.

Adjectives with ‘to’-infinitive or ‘that’-clauses

1. After link verbs, we often use adjectives that describe how someone feels about an action or situation. With some adjectives, we can add a ‘to’-infinitive clause or a ‘that’-clause to say what the action or situation is.

afraid anxious ashamed

disappointed frightened glad

happy pleased proud

sad surprised unhappy

If the subject is the same in both clauses, we usually use a ‘to’-infinitive clause. If the subject is different, we must use a ‘that’-clause.

e.g. I was happy to see them again.

He was happy that they were coming to the party.

We often use a ‘to’-infinitive clause when talking about future time in relation to the main clause.

e.g. I am afraid to go home.

He was anxious to leave before it got dark.

We often use a ‘that’-clause when talking about present or past time in relation to the main clause.

e.g. He was anxious that the passport was missing.

They were afraid that I might have talked to the police.

2. We often use ‘sorry’ with a ‘that’-clause. Note that ‘that’ is often omitted.

e.g. I'm very sorry that I can't join you.

I'm sorry I'm so late.

3. Some adjectives are not usually used alone, but have a ‘to’-infinitive clause after them to say what action or situation the adjective relates to.

able apt bound

due inclined liable

likely prepared ready

unlikely unwilling willing

e.g. They were unable to help her.

They were not likely to forget it.

I am willing to try.

I'm prepared to say I was wrong.

4. When we want to express an opinion about someone or something, we often use an adjective followed by a ‘to’-infinitive clause.

difficult easy impossible possible right wrong

e.g. She had been easy to deceive.

The windows will be almost impossible to open.

Am I wrong to stay here?

5. With some adjectives, we use a ‘that’-clause to express an opinion about someone or something.

awful bad essential

extraordinary funny good

important interesting obvious

sad true

e.g. I was sad that people had reacted in this way.

. It is extraordinary that we should ever have met!

6. We can also use adjectives with ‘to’-infinitive clauses after ‘it’ as the impersonal subject. We use the preposition ‘of ’ or ‘for’ to indicate the person or thing that the adjective relates to.

e.g. It was easy to find the path.

It was good of John to help me.

It was difficult for her to find a job.

Adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’

1. We use many ‘-ing’ adjectives to describe the effect that something has on our feelings, or on the feelings of people in general. For example, if we talk about 'a surprising number', we mean that the number surprises us.

alarming amazing annoying astonishing boring

charming confusing convincing depressing disappointing

embarrassing exciting frightening interesting shocking

surprising terrifying tiring welcoming worrying

e.g. He lives in a charming house just outside the town.

She always has a warm welcoming smile.

2. We use some ‘-ing’ adjectives to describe something that continues over a period of time.

ageing booming

decreasing dying

existing increasing

living remaining

e.g. Britain is an ageing society.

Increasing prices are making food very expensive.

3. Many ‘-ed’ adjectives describe people's feelings. They have the same form as the past participle of a transitive verb and have a passive meaning. For example, ‘a frightened person’ is a person who has been frightened by something.

alarmed amused astonished bored

delighted depressed disappointed excited

frightened interested satisfied shocked

surprised tired troubled worried