Feelings & Personality — A2 Essential Words

sad /sæd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling unhappy because something bad happened or because you miss someone.

Example: Emma was sad when her best friend moved to Seattle.

Another example: It’s a sad movie — I cried at the end.

Collocations: feel sad · sad news · a sad story

Synonyms: unhappy, down

Antonyms: happy, glad

Word family: sad (adj) · sadly (adv) · sadness (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’I feel sad’ or ’I am sad’. Don’t say ’I am sadly’ — ’sadly’ is an adverb: ’Sadly, the game was canceled.’

🗣 In spoken American English: Americans say ’I’m feeling down’ or ’I’m a bit blue’ to mean sad, in friendly speech.

Register: neutral — ’down’ and ’blue’ are informal speech

angry /ˈæŋ.ɡri/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling very unhappy with someone or something and wanting to show it; mad.

Example: Dad was angry because the car broke down again.

Another example: Please don’t be angry with me — it was a mistake.

Collocations: angry with someone · angry about something · get angry

Synonyms: mad, annoyed (a little angry)

Antonyms: calm, pleased

Word family: angry (adj) · angrily (adv) · anger (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’angry with’ a person and ’angry about’ a thing: ’angry with Tom’, ’angry about the price’. Don’t say ’angry to someone’.

🗣 In spoken American English: In American English, ’mad’ usually means angry (in British English it can mean crazy). ’I’m so mad at him!’ is very common.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

afraid /əˈfreɪd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling fear; thinking that something bad might happen.

Example: The little boy is afraid of dogs.

Another example: Don’t be afraid — the test is not very hard.

Collocations: afraid of dogs · afraid to ask · I’m afraid that…

Synonyms: scared, frightened

Antonyms: brave, confident

Word family: afraid (adj) · fear (n/v)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’afraid of’ something: ’afraid of the dark’. Don’t say ’afraid from’. Also, ’I’m afraid’ at the start of bad news is polite: ’I’m afraid the store is closed.’

🗣 In spoken American English: People say ’Don’t be scared!’ to comfort children. ’I’m afraid so’ means ’Yes, sadly it is true.’

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

worried /ˈwɝː.id/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling unhappy and nervous because you think something bad might happen.

Example: Mom is worried about my brother — he isn’t home yet.

Another example: I was worried about the exam, but it was easy.

Collocations: worried about something · don’t worry · worried sick

Synonyms: nervous, concerned

Antonyms: calm, relaxed

Word family: worried (adj) · worry (v/n) · worrying (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’worried about’ something: ’worried about money’. Don’t say ’worried for’ in this meaning, and don’t confuse ’worried’ (how you feel) with ’worrying’ (making others feel worry).

🗣 In spoken American English: ’Don’t worry about it!’ often just means ’It’s OK’ or ’You’re welcome’ after a small ’sorry’ or ’thanks’.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

excited /ɪkˈsaɪ.t̬ɪd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling very happy and full of energy because something good is going to happen.

Example: The kids are excited about the trip to the beach.

Another example: I’m excited to start my new job on Monday.

Collocations: excited about something · excited to do something · get excited

Synonyms: thrilled, eager

Antonyms: bored, calm

Word family: excited (adj) · exciting (adj) · excitement (n)

⚠ Common mistake: People are ’excited’; things are ’exciting’: ’I’m excited about the movie. The movie is exciting.’ Don’t say ’I am exciting’ for your feelings.

🗣 In spoken American English: People say ’I’m so excited!’ about trips, parties, and good news. Kids on a trip ask ’Are we there yet?’ because they are excited.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

surprised /sɚˈpraɪzd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling shocked in a small way because something happened that you did not expect.

Example: I was surprised to see Clara at the airport.

Another example: He looked surprised when we shouted ’Happy birthday!’

Collocations: surprised to see · surprised by something · a surprised look

Synonyms: amazed (very surprised), shocked (very surprised, often bad)

Word family: surprised (adj) · surprising (adj) · surprise (n/v)

⚠ Common mistake: People are ’surprised’; events are ’surprising’: ’I was surprised by the news. The news was surprising.’ Say ’surprised at/by’ or ’surprised to see/hear’.

🗣 In spoken American English: A ’surprise party’ is planned in secret. The guest of honor walks in and everyone shouts ’Surprise!’

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

kind /kaɪnd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Friendly and good to other people; thinking about others’ feelings and helping them.

Example: Our neighbor is very kind — she always helps older people.

Another example: It was kind of you to drive me home.

Collocations: very kind · kind to animals · a kind word

Synonyms: nice, helpful, gentle

Antonyms: unkind, mean, cruel

Word family: kind (adj) · kindly (adv) · kindness (n)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Kind’ is also a noun meaning ’type’: ’What kind of music do you like?’ Don’t mix the two: ’She is a kind person’ (adjective + noun) vs. ’this kind of music’ (type).

🗣 In spoken American English: People say ’That’s very kind of you’ to thank someone warmly. ’Be kind’ is a common classroom rule in American schools.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

friendly /ˈfrend.li/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Behaving like a friend: warm, smiling, and easy to talk to.

Example: The people in Nashville were friendly to visitors.

Another example: Our teacher is friendly, so students are not afraid to ask questions.

Collocations: a friendly smile · friendly people · friendly to visitors

Synonyms: warm, welcoming

Antonyms: unfriendly, cold

Word family: friendly (adj) · friend (n) · friendship (n) · unfriendly (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Friendly’ ends in -ly but it is an adjective, not an adverb: ’She smiled in a friendly way’, not ’She smiled friendly’. Don’t say ’friendly with everyone’ is wrong — ’friendly to/toward’ is most common for new people.

🗣 In spoken American English: Small American towns are famous for being friendly — strangers smile and say hello in the street.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

shy /ʃaɪ/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Quiet and a little nervous around new people; not comfortable talking in a group.

Example: Lily was shy on her first day at the new school.

Another example: He’s too shy to speak in front of the class.

Collocations: feel shy · a shy child · too shy to ask

Synonyms: quiet, timid

Antonyms: outgoing, confident

Word family: shy (adj) · shyly (adv) · shyness (n)

⚠ Common mistake: ’Shy’ is about feeling nervous with people. Don’t use it for animals running away — that is ’wild’ or ’afraid’. A shy person is not unfriendly.

🗣 In spoken American English: People kindly say ’She’s a little shy’ about children. ’Don’t be shy!’ encourages someone to take food or join in.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing

proud /praʊd/ adjective A2 Feelings

Meaning: Feeling happy and satisfied about something good that you or someone close to you did.

Example: Her parents are proud of her good grades.

Another example: I’m proud to be on this team.

Collocations: proud of someone · proud to be · make someone proud

Synonyms: pleased, satisfied

Antonyms: ashamed

Word family: proud (adj) · proudly (adv) · pride (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Say ’proud of’ a person or thing: ’proud of my son’. Don’t say ’proud about’ or ’proud for’. Note: too much pride can be negative — ’He’s too proud to ask for help.’

🗣 In spoken American English: At school events, parents say ’I’m so proud of you!’ American team shirts often say ’Proud to be a Tiger’ with the school team name.

Register: neutral — fine in speech and writing