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Prepositions after adjectives

Prepositions after silly

Silly commonly appears with of and to. Other prepositions are more limited or depend on the wider sentence.

Quick answer

How is silly used with prepositions?

Use silly of before a person and silly to before an action. Silly with can describe behaviour caused by emotion. In often belongs to a larger phrase, not a fixed pattern after silly.

It was silly of me to agree.
It would be silly to ignore the warning.

Choose the pattern by meaning

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

1
silly of + person + to + verb

Judging someone's action

This pattern comments on behaviour.

It was silly of him to drive so fast.
2
silly to + verb

Calling an action unwise

Use this structure when the actor is general or obvious.

It's silly to waste food.
3
silly with + emotion

Affected by emotion

With introduces a strong feeling.

They were silly with excitement.
4
silly in + context

Describing behaviour in a situation

In usually introduces a situation rather than forming a fixed phrase.

He felt silly in that costume.

See the difference in context

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

Construction
Example
Meaning
silly of
That was silly of me.
Criticises a person's action.
silly to
It's silly to argue about this.
Criticises an action in general.
silly with
The children were silly with laughter.
Affected by emotion or excitement.
silly for
It is silly for adults to panic.
For can introduce the person performing the action in a larger structure.

Common mistakes

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

Using of without a person

Silly of normally needs a person before the infinitive.

✕ It was silly of to leave early. ✓ It was silly of him to leave early.

Confusing silly to and silly of

Use of for the person and to for the action.

✕ It was silly to him to shout. ✓ It was silly of him to shout.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. It was silly ___ me to forget the keys.
2. It's silly ___ spend so much money.
3. The kids were silly ___ excitement.

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Frequently asked questions

Can silly be followed by a verb?

Yes. Silly to do something is very common.

What is the difference between silly of and silly to?

Silly of focuses on the person; silly to focuses on the action.

Is silly with formal?

It is more common in informal or expressive English.

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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