Micro-listening
Worry or be worried: which one fits?
Can I say 'I worry of something' in English?
Use the verb worry when someone experiences concern as an action or regular habit. Use be worried when you describe a person's current emotional state. In addition, an event or situation can worry someone when it creates that feeling. While both forms describe the same general emotion, they arrange the grammar around different actors.
Key points
- Choose worry for an ongoing action or when an event causes concern for someone.
- Choose be worried to describe how a person feels at a specific moment.
- Connect either choice to a noun using about, or introduce a full clause with that.
This lesson has 5 stages. You can stop at any time and continue later.
Stage 1 of 5
Understand
What it means, when to use it, and mistakes to avoid.
Examples
Marcus worries about parking whenever he drives into the city center.
Why it works: The simple present verb worries shows a repeated habit in a familiar routine.
3 more examples
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Elena is worried about the sudden noise coming from her car engine.
Is worried describes Elena's emotional condition right now.
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The steep rise in electricity bills worries many small business owners.
The bills are the subject causing concern for the owners.
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We were worried that our luggage was left behind at the transfer airport.
Were worried describes the past condition, followed by a clause starting with that.
Read the full guide
Decide between an action and a state
Start by asking whether your sentence describes how someone feels or what someone does. If you want to describe a person's emotional condition right now, use be worried. If you want to describe an ongoing habit or the repeated act of experiencing concern, use the verb worry. Both forms express concern, but they frame the thought differently.
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Carlos is worried about his job interview this afternoon.
Why it works: Is worried describes the emotional condition Carlos is experiencing today.
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Carlos worries whenever he has to speak in public.
Why it works: Worries describes a repeated habit and predictable reaction across many situations.
Your turn
Which sentence describes someone's current emotional condition rather than a general habit?
Answer: Sandra is worried about her missing house keys.
Show the answer
Answer: Sandra is worried about her missing house keys.
Sandra is worried describes how Sandra feels at this exact moment about a specific problem.
Describe feelings with be worried
When you use be worried, choose the form of be that matches your subject and time. Use am, is, or are for present feelings, and use was or were for feelings in the past. Here, worried functions as an adjective describing the person. Because be carries the tense, worried keeps the same spelling in every sentence.
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We were worried during the heavy thunderstorm last night.
Why it works: Were matches the plural subject we in the past tense, while worried remains unchanged.
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The store manager is worried about delivery delays this week.
Why it works: Is matches the singular subject manager to describe a current concern.
You can practise this again in Practice or practise: which spelling fits? and First-day onboarding tasks.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly uses be worried in the past tense?
Answer: They were worried about the storm yesterday.
Show the answer
Answer: They were worried about the storm yesterday.
The plural subject they requires were for the past tense, followed by the adjective worried.
Use worry as an active verb
When worry is the main verb, it changes like any regular verb ending in a consonant and y. Change y to ies in the third person singular present, writing worries for he, she, or it. In the past tense, write worried. For negative statements in the present, add do not or does not before the base form worry.
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My father worries about our safety when the roads are icy.
Why it works: Worries takes the third person singular form to agree with my father.
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Our neighbors do not worry about minor changes to the schedule.
Why it works: Do not pairs with the base verb worry to form a negative statement.
Your turn
Which sentence shows the correct third-person singular present form of the verb?
Answer: He worries about the high heating bill every winter.
Show the answer
Answer: He worries about the high heating bill every winter.
Verbs ending in a consonant followed by y change to ies in the third-person singular present.
Show what causes concern
You can place the thing causing concern at the start of your sentence. In this pattern, the cause acts as the subject, worry is the verb, and the person who feels concern becomes the object. This structure sounds natural in professional writing and news reports because it explains the exact source of trouble directly.
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The falling sales figures worry the regional sales director.
Why it works: The sales figures cause concern, while the director experiences that concern as the object.
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This unexpected repair bill worried my family last month.
Why it works: The repair bill acts as the subject causing concern in the past.
Your turn
In the sentence 'The noisy engine worries the driver,' what causes the concern?
Answer: The noisy engine.
Show the answer
Answer: The noisy engine.
The noisy engine is the subject of the active verb worries, so it is the cause of concern.
Connect ideas with about
Both worry and be worried usually connect to a topic with the preposition about. Follow about with a noun, a pronoun, or a verb ending in -ing. When an action causes concern, always use the -ing form after about. Never follow about with a base verb or an infinitive with to.
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The tenants are worried about paying higher rent next year.
Why it works: Paying is an -ing form following the preposition about.
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Do you worry about your upcoming language test?
Why it works: About connects the question to the noun phrase your upcoming language test.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly connects the verb to an action?
Answer: I am worried about missing my morning train.
Show the answer
Answer: I am worried about missing my morning train.
Prepositions like about must be followed by an -ing form when referring to an action.
Connect a full clause using that
When you want to explain a complete situation with its own subject and verb, connect it with that instead of a preposition. In everyday conversation, speakers often drop the word that, but the structure remains the same. If a complete clause follows, do not include the preposition about before that.
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We were worried that the heavy snow would block the mountain pass.
Why it works: That connects were worried to the full clause the heavy snow would block the mountain pass.
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Doctors worry that patients stop taking their prescribed medicine too early.
Why it works: That introduces the situation causing concern, with patients as the subject and stop as the verb.
Your turn
Which sentence correctly connects the feeling to a full clause?
Answer: She was worried that the clinic was closed.
Show the answer
Answer: She was worried that the clinic was closed.
Use that to introduce a full clause with its own subject and verb. Do not combine about and that.
Avoid common preposition mistakes
Learners often translate prepositions directly from their first languages and write worry of or worried for. Standard English uses about for the topic of concern. You may occasionally hear worried by when describing an event that caused a feeling, but about remains the safest choice. Avoid of, from, and with when naming what concerns you.
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Please do not worry about the extra cost of printing.
Why it works: About is the standard preposition here. Writing worry of would be incorrect.
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Our team was worried about the sudden schedule change.
Why it works: About connects the state description was worried to the topic.
Your turn
Which sentence uses the correct preposition?
Answer: David is worried about the broken pipe in the kitchen.
Show the answer
Answer: David is worried about the broken pipe in the kitchen.
English uses about with worried to introduce the topic or source of concern.
Notice sound changes in spoken English
In fast speech, the ending of worried links smoothly into words that start with a vowel sound. When worried connects with about, you will often hear worried about pronounced almost like one continuous word. In contrast, the present verb worry ends in a vowel sound that glides easily into the next syllable.
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I was worried about the timing of the announcement.
Why it works: The final d sound in worried links directly to the vowel at the start of about.
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They worry all week before every major presentation.
Why it works: The final vowel sound in worry connects smoothly to the vowel sound in all.
Your turn
What happens when someone says 'worried about' in natural connected speech?
Answer: The final d sound links smoothly into the vowel sound of about.
Show the answer
Answer: The final d sound links smoothly into the vowel sound of about.
In fluent speech, the consonant /d/ at the end of worried connects directly to the following vowel sound in about.
Questions about "Worry or be worried: which one fits?"
Can I say 'I worry of something' in English?
No, standard English does not use the preposition of after worry or be worried. When you name the subject or event causing concern, always use about. For instance, you say 'I worry about my exams' rather than 'I worry of my exams.' If you are introducing an action, use about followed by a verb ending in -ing.
She is worried about making mistakes during the interview.
What is the difference between 'Don't worry' and 'No worries'?
'Don't worry' is an imperative sentence used to reassure someone who feels anxious or concerned about a problem. 'No worries' is an informal spoken phrase often used to say 'you are welcome' or to indicate that a small mistake is not important. Use 'Don't worry' when someone is actively expressing anxiety.
Don't worry about the broken glass; I will clean it up right away.
Thank you for holding the door. No worries!
Can an object or situation be the subject of worry?
Yes, an object, event, or condition can act as the subject of the verb worry. In this structure, the thing causes concern, and the person who feels that concern becomes the direct object. This pattern is common when discussing news, financial data, or mechanical problems.
The strange sound in the basement worries our parents.
Rising food prices worry families across the region.
When should I use that instead of about after worried?
Use that when your explanation contains a full clause with its own subject and verb. Use about when your explanation is simply a noun, a pronoun, or an -ing form. In casual conversation, English speakers often omit that, but you should never place about directly before that.
We were worried that our train had already departed.
We were worried about our missing train tickets.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose worry for an ongoing action or when an event causes concern for someone. Choose be worried to describe how a person feels at a specific moment. Connect either choice to a noun using about, or introduce a full clause with that.
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Describe a recent situation at work or school that caused you concern. Explain whether you were worried about a specific deadline or if unexpected changes worried you, and how you handled it.
You could start with “Last week, I was worried about our project deadline because…”
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