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Prepositions after adjectives

Shameful for, about, in, of or to?

Shameful often appears with to or for. Other prepositions usually depend on sentence structure and meaning.

Quick answer

Which prepositions are used with shameful?

Use shameful to when judging behaviour toward someone or something. Shameful for can describe what is embarrassing for a person or group. Shameful about is uncommon because shameful already contains the idea of shame.

It was shameful to ignore the refugees.
The result was shameful for the club.
There was nothing shameful in asking questions.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
shameful to + verb

Judging an action

Use shameful to before an infinitive to judge behaviour or actions.

It is shameful to waste so much food.
It was shameful to blame the victims.
2
shameful for + person/group

Describing embarrassment or disgrace

Use shameful for when something reflects badly on a person or group.

The defeat was shameful for the national team.
This is shameful for a modern democracy.
3
shameful in + activity

Evaluating conduct within a context

Use shameful in when discussing behaviour within a specific area or activity.

There was nothing shameful in admitting the mistake.
4
shameful of + person

Nonstandard modern use

Shameful of is generally not used in current standard English.

It was shameful of them to lie.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
shameful for
The scandal was shameful for the organisation.
causing disgrace to someone or a group
shameful to
It is shameful to exploit workers.
morally wrong or embarrassing to do
shameful in
There is nothing shameful in failure.
within a particular activity or situation
shameful about
There is nothing shameful about asking for help.
about belongs to the following phrase rather than a fixed adjective pattern
shameful of
It was shameful of him to cheat.
often considered nonstandard; many speakers prefer shameful to or a different structure

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using shameful of as a regular pattern

Shameful of is not widely accepted in standard modern English.

✕ It was shameful of her to leave. ✓ It was shameful to leave.

Adding about unnecessarily

Shameful already expresses shame, so about is often unnecessary.

✕ The act was shameful about the community. ✓ The act was shameful for the community.

Confusing for and to

Use for with people or groups affected by disgrace, and to before actions.

✕ It was shameful for waste food. ✓ It was shameful to waste food.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. It was shameful ___ spread false rumours.
2. The scandal was shameful ___ the company.
3. There is nothing shameful ___ asking for help.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I say shameful about?

Yes, but about usually introduces the topic of the sentence rather than forming a fixed adjective pattern.

Is shameful of correct?

Many modern speakers avoid it and prefer structures with shameful to or shameful for.

What is the difference between shameful for and shameful to?

Shameful for describes disgrace affecting someone, while shameful to judges an action.

sacred-to-in-by-of, for "sad for" or "sad about"? "safe for", "safe from" or "safe in"? sanguine about, in, of, on or for? "satisfactory to" or "satisfactory for"? satisfied with, of, by, in or on? "satisfying for" or "satisfying to"? scarce in, for, at, on or of? scared of, to, about, for or by? "scary for" or "scary to"? "scathing about", "scathing in" or "scathing of"? "sceptical about" or "sceptical of"?

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