Prepositional Phrases with “Good”

Prepositional Phrases with “Good”

Hi dear English learners! Prepositional phrases can be a bit tricky sometimes so in today’s lesson we are going to look at the prepositional phrases with “good” – good at, good in, good for, good with, good to, good about, good of with lots of example sentences so you know when to use which one.

Good at

If you are good at something then you do it very well. Use the phrase with a noun or a gerund which refers to activity.

• Our new English teacher is very good at motivating students to learn.
• I’m not very good at cooking but I’ll try to prepare a decent meal.
• I’m pretty good at basketball but football is not my cup of tea.
• He decided to study French literature because he was better at languages than science.

Prepositional phrases with “good”

Good in

Many English learners confuse “good at” and “good in”. While we use “good at” for activities with nouns and gerunds,  “good in” is used with nouns which are not activities. 

• Laura is an excellent driver. She’s very good in traffic jams.
• Although he’s very good in comedy, he’s a hopeless actor when it comes to drama.
• I guess your suggestion sounds good in theory but is it also good in practice?
• The service they provided was good in parts but the staff was pretty bad.

Prepositional phrases with “good”

Good for

If something is “good for” something, then it has quality, energy, etc. to last or to provide something.

• You should work out more often. Exercise is good for you.
• It turned out that a salary rise was very good for workers’ motivation.
• Can you believe that he actually thinks that playing video games is good for him?
• Tesla produces cars that are good for the environment.

Prepositional phrases with “good”

Good with

To be good with something means to be competent and skilled or to get on well with people.

• Accountants are usually very good with numbers; they don’t need a calculator.
• Sandra has been working in the kindergarten for a long time so she is very good with children.
• The sweater you knitted is beautiful. You must be pretty good with your hands.
• Adam is very good with his boss. He often gives him a  lift home.

Prepositional phrases with “good”

Good to

“Good to” is similar to “good with” so you may be in doubt about which one to use. The rule of thumb is that “good to” is used to say that someone is kind and generous.

• Helen’s parents were very good to her when she got divorced. They looked after her children and cooked for them.
• Diana was very good to me when I was ill.
• The Smiths were very well treated when they lived abroad. Everyone was so good to them.
• Fortune is good to him who knows to make good use of her. 

Prepositional phrases with “good”

Good about and good of

Use “good about” and “good of” to say that someone is willing to help.

• My brother gave me half money for the car. He was so good about it.

or

• My brother gave me half money for my car. It was so good of him.

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