Scared plus prepositions
Hello everyone,
I would like to know if I can use all of the next sentences with the "scared" adjective. Since you can say the same thing in many ways in English that doubt came up.
- I am scared that he don´t pass the next exam
- I am scared of him not passing the next exam
- I am scared of not passing the next exam
- I am scared that he tells my manager
- I am scared of him telling my manager
- I was scared that he wouldn´t talk to me anymore
Many thanks in advance
Re: Scared plus prepositions
Hello Irland90,
Here are some corrections. You may want to check the use of the proper verb and how the sentences are constructed.
I am afraid he didn't pass the exam
I am scared he won't pass the exam ("his not passing" can be used, but it's not good)
I am scared of not passing the next exam. (It means that "I have the exam")
I am scared ("of that" is not good) he will tell my manager. ("of his telling my manager" can be used, but it's not good)
I was scared he wouldn't talk to me any more. ("of his not talking to me anymore" can be used, but it's not good)
Re: Scared plus prepositions
I agree with Daniel's assessment as regards structure and grammar but personally, I would use "afraid"; "worried" or "concerned" in all these instances. Although "scared" can be used it really means to be frightened (asustar), as in "I was scared the dog would bite me".
In the above sentences the context is more like being concerned about something that would be unpleasant or have an undesirable result (temer) as opposed to something that might cause bodily harm.
vicente
Re: Scared plus prepositions
Although maybe less common, you can be scared about sth. "I am really scared about speaking in front of the class." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scared
Re: Scared plus prepositions
That's true Gentle.As I said, scared CAN be used in the above sentences.
"Scared of" rather than "scared about" is the most common usage.
I'm scared of dogs; I'm scared of the dark; I'm always scared of something. I'm scared of everything.
A very popular phrase is "to be scared to death". EX: "I was scared to death my wife would find out"; "I'm scared to death of my boss", etc.
Being scared GENERALLY implies timidity or fear, i.e., scared of speakin in front of the class.
However, in the case of the original poster's sentences, he's scared of what might happen and I think "afraid" is the better choice.
I emphasize that this is a personal opinion and not to be taken as any kind of rule. You could insert "freaked" or "horrified" or "terrorfied" in place of scared and the meaning would still be understood.
I'm always looking for the BEST way to say something in context.
vicente
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