Adjectives describe a noun and are often used with a preposition: adjective + preposition.
Today we will be looking at three prepositions: by, for, and from. Here are some adjectives that go with these prepositions:
The preposition 'by' indicates an agent of an action (= the person or thing that does the action). "This book was published by his company." means his company published this book.
We can also use 'by' to indicate the cause of some emotion or feeling.
- He was amazed by the news. (= the news amazed him)
- We were puzzled by his decision to drop out of college. (= we could not understand why he dropped out)
- The whole country was shocked by the terrorist attack.
The preposition 'for' generally indicates a purpose for doing something or an endpoint. Whereas "a train 'to' London" will go 'to' London, "a train 'for' London" is a train whose final destination is London. When the train reaches London, it has fulfilled its purpose or reason for being.
Use 'for' with adjectives to indicate the reason for that adjective:
- Michael Jackson is famous for his music. (= the reason for his fame is his music)
- The thief was punished for stealing. (= the reason for the punishment was stealing)
- He was thankful for his family's help. (= he appreciated his family's help)
The preposition 'from' can indicate separation between two things. For example, "Stay away from the dog!" means to keep some space between yourself and the dog.
Use 'from' with adjectives to express separation between two things:
- The refugees escaped to Germany to be safe from war. (= separation between the refugees and war)
- He looked different from the picture.
