English · A2 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Feelings and reactions
Describe a feeling, its cause, and a change in emotional state.
Understand the choice
Emotion words gain precision through complements: nervous about, angry with/at/about, disappointed with/by, surprised by/at, proud of.
Core rule: Be/feel + adjective describes emotion; become/get shows change; prepositions depend on the adjective.
Notice it in context
I am nervous about the exam, but my friend remains calm.
Estoy nervioso por el examen, pero mi amiga sigue tranquila.
Nervous takes about + cause; remains calm describes continuing state.
He is happy but sometimes sad and angry.
He often feels pleasure, but sometimes unhappiness and anger.
Happy, sad, and angry appear directly.
The proud student was surprised and disappointed by the result.
The student felt pride, then unexpected disappointment at the result.
Proud, surprised, and disappointed appear directly.
What to remember
- Excited is positive anticipation; aroused can carry physical/sexual meaning.
- Mad means angry in informal US English but “insane” in other contexts/varieties.
Common trap: Do not use exciting to describe how a person feels; use excited.