grateful
adjective
What grateful means
Feeling or showing thanks because someone has helped you or given you something.
I’m so grateful for your help.
We’d be grateful if you could reply by Friday.
Test yourself
Five questions about grateful
-
Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does grateful mean?
If you are grateful, you want to say thank you, because someone did something kind for you or gave you something you needed.
-
Question 2 of 5Situation
Your neighbour fed your cat every day while you were away. When you come home, you buy her flowers and a card. You feel…
You buy flowers because your neighbour helped you and you want to thank her, so you feel grateful. Graceful describes beautiful, smooth movement, not thanks.
-
Question 3 of 5Gap
I’m really ___ for all the help you gave me when I moved house.
Someone helped you move house and you want to thank them, so grateful fits. Grateful takes for before the thing that someone did for you.
-
Question 4 of 5Similar word
Which word is closest in meaning to grateful?
Thankful and grateful both mean that you feel thanks for something good. Hopeful means expecting good things, and careful means paying attention to avoid danger.
-
Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses grateful correctly?
You are grateful for the thing someone did and grateful to the person, never with them. Before a that clause, drop for: grateful that you helped.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Grateful in a sentence
5 more examples of grateful in everyday situations.
- At work
I’m grateful to the whole team for staying late to finish the project.
- A message
Thanks again for the ride to the airport, I’m really grateful.
- Travel
We were grateful for the free coffee during the long flight delay.
- The news
The family said they were deeply grateful to the firefighters who saved their home.
- A card
We are so grateful for everything you did for us this year.
How to use grateful
Grateful to a person, for a thing: “I’m grateful to my teacher for her patience.”
“I would be grateful if you could…” is a polite way to ask for something in formal emails and letters.
Grateful has nothing to do with great, even though they sound alike. The noun is gratitude.
Forms
- gratefullyadverb
- gratitudenoun
- ungratefulopposite adjective
Patterns
- be grateful to someone for something
- be grateful for something
- I’d be grateful if you could + verb
- be grateful that + clause
Common mistakes with grateful
-
NotI’m grateful to your help.
SayI’m grateful for your help. / I’m grateful to you.
Use grateful to before a person and grateful for before the thing they did: grateful to you for your help.
Grateful or thankful or great?
- grateful or thankful
- Thankful and grateful are very close. Thankful is often used when you are glad something bad did not happen (“I’m thankful nobody was hurt”), while grateful is more common when a person helped you.
- grateful or great
- Grateful only means thankful; it has nothing to do with great, even though the first part sounds the same. Do not say “a grateful day” when you mean a great day.
Grateful is a B1 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Grateful word family and collocations
The words that go with grateful, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- deeply grateful
- grateful for
- grateful to
- I’d be grateful if
- eternally grateful
Word family
- grateful (adjective)
- gratefully (adverb)
- gratitude (noun)
- ungrateful (adjective)
Similar words
- thankful
- appreciative
Opposites
- ungrateful
Questions about grateful
Is it grateful to or grateful for?
Use both, with different objects. You are grateful to a person and grateful for the thing they did: “I’m grateful to Ana for her help.”
What is the noun of grateful?
The noun is gratitude, as in “She expressed her gratitude to the nurses.” Gratefulness also exists, but gratitude is far more common.
How do you pronounce grateful?
Grateful is pronounced GRAYT-ful, with the stress on the first syllable. The first part sounds exactly like the word great.
The word before
Do you still remember flavour?
One question about the word from 16 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
-
What does flavour mean?
Flavour is the taste that a food or drink has in your mouth, like the taste of mint or chocolate. It also names each kind of taste you can choose from.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
More feelings words
-
C1
empathy
The ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. -
C1
moody
Having moods that change quickly, often becoming unhappy or angry without a clear reason. -
B2
outgoing
Friendly, open and enjoying meeting people. -
C1
tolerate
To accept something that you do not like without complaining or taking action. -
B2
guilty
Feeling bad because you think you have done something wrong. -
C1
sentimental
Connected with feelings of love or memories, often about the past.