Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009

Adjective + Preposition
Unit 27 Women are different from men

What have you learned from your grammar textbook?

Adjectives can occur either (1) before a noun or (2) after a non-action verb (be, seem, become, etc.):

1. We have a big cat.

2. My daughter is sick today.

What does the corpus show?

A

When adjectives occur before a noun, they are almost never followed by a preposition. But adjectives occurring after a non-action verb can be followed by a preposition.

• It brings back such happy thoughts.

• They are happy with the deal they got.

B

In conversation, many common adjectives occur after a non-action verb without a following preposition. The adjectives usually express a general comment on a situation:

C

Other common adjectives in conversation often take a following preposition. These adjectives usually occur with a particular preposition to make specific combinations:

D

In academic writing, most common adjectives after a non-action verb occur with a following preposition (or a following clause—see Unit 36). The adjectives are different from those used in conversation. They usually occur with a particular preposition and make specific combinations that are common in academic writing:

Activities

1 Notice in context: Read the two excerpts from conversations and the two paragraphs from academic texts. Circle the adjectives that follow non-action verbs. If the adjective is followed by a preposition, underline it. Do not circle possessives or numbers.

1. Conversation: About someone’s fear of cockroaches.

Julia: It’s weird because I am not afraid of snakes and I’m not really afraid of bugs, but for some reason knowing that there was a cockroach in that apartment... I couldn’t stay there. Isn’t that weird?

2. Conversation: At a meeting about a company’s budget.

Chair: So, if anyone is aware of any changes, let Carl know before Thursday of next week. Anything else? Are we ready for the vote?

3. Academic writing: About researching levels of difficulty in reading programs.

Bjornsson’s approach was different from that of many earlier researchers in two important ways: first, he set out to make his formula useful for making cross-cultural comparisons; and second, he chose not to use the students’ language background as a factor in his studies.

4. Academic writing: About methods of collecting data for social research.

There are several methods that are common in data collection, and they are personal interview, telephone interview, group response, direct observation, and mailed questionnaires.

2 Analyze and edit: Read these paragraphs written by English language learners, underline each adjective + preposition combination and decide if each combination is written correctly, if it is correct, write C above it; if it is incorrect, cross it out and write the correct combination above it.

1. From a writing exam question about changing lifestyles. [Two combinations]

Luxury goods are goods which make life pleasant but are not really necessary for everyday life. Our research gives information about the percentage of households with goods like cars and televisions in the years 1970 and 1980. As we found, the greatest increases can be found in heating systems and phones. Those luxury goods were not as common for 1970 as other goods; only a third of households had them.

2. From a letter in a job application. [Three combinations]

I would like to apply for the job in your engineering firm that you advertised in Presse newspaper yesterday. My education and work experience are consistent in the job description in your ad. I am capable for working long hours, and I am available for an interview immediately.

3 Practice conversation: Debate the following topics with a partner. For each topic, choose one side of the argument and try to convince your partner that your point of view is the best one. Use each of the adjective + preposition combinations in the box at least once and any other combinations that you choose.

1. Driving a car versus riding a bike to work or school.

2. Reading the book versus watching the movie about the book.

3. Living in a city versus living in the country.

4. Sending a letter to a friend versus sending an email to a friend.

Example

Riding your bike provides exercise, which is good for your health, and it is better for the environment than driving a car.

4 Practice writing: choose one of the topics you debated above, and write a paragraph explaining your point of view. Use at least three adjective + preposition combinations in your paragraph. Share your paragraph with your partner.

Example

I believe sending a letter can be important for communication between friends because it is more personal than an email. There are several other reasons, including ...