Worried About: Standard Pattern
Worried About: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “worried about” before the person, thing, situation, or activity that is causing concern.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Context | Use | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| concern about a person or thing | worried about + noun/pronoun | Use “about” before what causes the concern. |
| concern about an activity or possible event | worried about + -ing form | An activity can follow the preposition “about” in -ing form. |
| different construction or sense | check that construction separately | Do not turn one documented pattern into a universal ban on every other complement. |
Quick tests
Decision test
Are you naming the person, thing, situation, or activity that is causing concern?
If yes: Use “worried about” before that complement.
If no: Check the intended construction rather than forcing “about” into every use of “worried.”
Caveat: This guide establishes the documented “worried about” pattern; it does not claim that every other construction containing “worried” is wrong.
Examples
She is worried about the delay.
The noun phrase names the situation causing concern.
They are worried about missing the train.
An activity follows the preposition “about” in -ing form.
I am worried about him.
A pronoun can name the person who is the focus of concern.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “worried about” before the person, thing, situation, or activity that is causing concern.
Style Boundary
Cambridge documents “worried about”; this guide does not collapse other valid worried constructions into the same pattern.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- WORRIED | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the Worried About construction.