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We can use the word “scared” in a few different sentence patterns. All the patterns are used to express fear or worry. The “be verb” changes the tense of the sentence (present tense, past tense, future tense, etc.).
Subject + be verb + scared (that) + sentence
- I am scared that I will not get the job.
- I am scared that you will get hurt.
- He is scared that his company will fail.
- She will be scared that you won’t come back alive.
- He is scared that a shark will attack him while he is surfing.
- They were scared that you were going to hurt them.
- I am scared that I won’t have enough money to pay my rent next month.
Subject + be verb + scared of + noun/gerund…
- I am scared of spiders.
- I am scared of going to the dentist.
- She is scared of the dark.
- He is scared of speaking in front of other people.
- The child is scared of monsters.
- They were scared of their teacher last year.
- She is scared of failing.
- I was scared of ghosts when I was young.
- Nobody is scared of making too much money.
- Everybody is scared of something.
Subject + be verb + scared + infinitive…
We can only use this sentence pattern when the subject is doing the action.
- I was too scared to ask her out on a date.
- She is scared to sleep with the lights off.
- She will be scared to come.
- He is scared to fight.
- They were scared to bungee jump, but they did it in the end.
- Everybody is scared to disagree with the CEO.
- My mom is scared to drive.
- Mark and Tim were scared to ask their boss for a day off.
Bonus Tips and Points
1. There is one more sentence pattern that we should know. This is a passive voice sentence.
Subject + be verb + scared by + noun…
- They were scared by the storm.
(=The storm scared them.) - I am scared by loud noises.
(=Loud noises scare me.)
2. We can also use the verb form – to scare.
- She scares me.
(=She makes me scared. / I am scared of her.) - Animals scare him.
(=Animals make him scared. / He is scared of animals.)
3. Do not forget that we can make negative sentences by using “be verb + not scared”.
- I am not scared of dogs, but my sister is.
- She isn’t scared of meeting new people.
- I was not scared to sleep in the dark when I was young.
Real-World English Conversations
A) Are you okay? It looks like you’ve seen a ghost.
B) I am fine. I am just a little scared of dark places.
A) My son is scared of monsters. He always checks under his bed before sleeping.
B) That is cute.
A) I am really scared to swim in the ocean.
B) Me too. I will never go in the ocean.
A) What are you scared of?
B) To be honest, I am not really scared of anything.
A) What is your biggest fear?
B) I am scared of dying.
Use these free English lessons to learn the most common sentence patterns in the English language. If you learn these sentences and questions, it will help you speak English well. Study the lessons thoroughly, practice making your own sentences, and come back to review often. If you do these three steps, your English speaking will improve quickly and you will be able to have natural English conversations.
English Sentence Patterns for Speaking Index
