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What is Interested in? English knowledge about Interested in

When expressing a liking for something in English, we can use Interested in instead of familiar words like "like" or "love." However, many people are still unsure about how to use and the formula for the structure Interested in. Let’s explore this in detail in the article below!

What is Interested in? The usage of Interested in

I. What is Interested? What is Interested in?
II. How to use Interested in a sentence
III. Interested in synonyms
IV. Antonyms of Interested in
V. Distinguishing between Interested in, Interested to, and Interested
VI. Distinguishing between Interested and Interesting
VII. Exercises on Interested in with answers
1. 1. Exercise
2. 2. Answer

I. What is Interested? What is Interested in?

Interested is pronounced as /ˈɪn.trɪ.stɪd/ and acts as an adjective. The Interested in meaning is: wanting to give your attention to something and discover more about it; relating to a person or group who has a connection with a particular situation, event, business, etc. Here are some Interested in examples:

I'd be interested to hear more about your work.
Martin isn’t interested in this movie.

Interested in is a phrasal verb formed from the adjective Interested and the preposition "in," meaning: wanting to give your attention to something and discover more about it. For example:

Jack didn't seem very interested in what I was saying.
I've always been interested in the origins of Rock music.

II. How to use Interested in a sentence

Let’s explore the detailed usage of Interested in a sentence below:

Interested in	Meaning	Example
Interested in somebody/something	To express concern or enthusiasm for someone or something.	Hanna has always been interested in Pop music.
Interested in doing something	To show attention to something.	Sara ’d be very interested in knowing more about you.
Interested to do something	To express a desire or intention to do something.	I'd be interested to hear more about your work.

III. Interested in synonyms

Besides using the structure "Be interested in" to express liking or enthusiasm, there are some equivalent structures you can flexibly substitute, such as:

Interested in synonyms	Meaning	Example
be into	to like and be interested in something	Jenny is into yoga these days.
be keen on	liking, interested in, or wanting (to do) something very much	Hanna is keen on learning Korean.
be fond of	to like someone or something very much	Daisy is very fond of her dog.
appeal to somebody	to attract or interest someone	Living in England appeals to me.
be crazy/mad/passionate about	to be very interested in something or love someone very much	Peter is crazy about Funk music.
be a big fan of	If you are a fan of someone or something, especially a famous person or a sport, you like them very much and are very interested in them	Harry is a big fan of Marvel.
be enthusiastic about	feeling or showing a lot of excitement and interest about somebody/something	Juna is enthusiastic about learning Korean.

IV. Antonyms of Interested in

To create an antonym for the structure "Interested in," you can use the prefixes "un" or "dis" to form "Uninterested in" or "Disinterested in."

Antonyms of Interested in	Meaning	Example
Uninterested /ʌnˈɪn.trɪ.stɪd/	not excited or not wanting to become involved	Jenny was uninterested in attending John’s singing class.
Disinterested /dɪˈsɪn.trɪ.stɪd/	having no personal involvement or receiving no personal advantage, and therefore free to act fairly	He will be able to provide an disinterested judgement.
Disinterested /dɪˈsɪn.trɪ.stɪd/	Be disinterested in = be uninterested in: not excited or not wanting to become involved	Although he was disinterested in sports, he attended the game to support his friends.

V. Distinguishing between Interested in, Interested to, and Interested

In addition to the structure Interested in, there are also the structures Interested to and Interested, which are often confused in usage. Let’s point out the differences between these structures:

Structure	Interested in	Interested to	Interested
Formula	Interested in + N/V-ing	Interested + to V	Interested + N
Usage	Interested in expresses liking, enthusiasm, or concern for something. Follows a noun or a verb ending in "ing."	Interested to expresses a desire or intention to do something. Follows an infinitive verb.	Interested refers to people or things related to something. Follows a noun.
Example	Anna and John are interested in playing volleyball.	Hanna ’d be interested to learn more about this product.	All interested parties are invited to this meeting.

VI. Distinguishing between Interested and Interesting

One important distinction to note is between Interested and Interesting for accurate usage!

	Interested	Interesting
Similarities	Both are adjectives used to express interest or enthusiasm in English.
Differences	Interested is used to describe a person's state of interest in something, indicating their feelings of liking or concern for someone or something. The subject in the sentence is usually a person.	Interesting is used when we want to refer to the qualities, characteristics, or appeal of something that is engaging or fascinating.
Example	Kathy is interested in this textbook.	This textbook is interesting.

Distinguishing between Interested and Interesting

VII. Exercises on Interested in with answers

After learning about Interested in, let’s practice with the exercise below to better understand the knowledge:

1. Exercise

Exercise: Choose the most correct answer.

Jenny is ____ swimming

A. Interested in

B. Interested to

C. Interesting

Is Hanna ____ learn new vocabulary?

A. Interested in

B. Interested to

C. Interested

Sara is interested____ talking to John.

A. In

B. To

C. Is

Math’s test is so_____

A. Interested

B. Interested in

C. Interesting

Harry is _____ in playing guitar.

A. interests

B. interested

C. interesting

This film is so ____!

A. interests

B. interested

C. interesting

Is Jenny interested in _____ football?

A. play

B. played

C. playing

Martin ____ interested in listening to music.

A. is

B. are

C. will

Sara is interested ____ learning Physics. It’s ____.

A. in/interested

B. in/interesting

C. on/interesting

Unlike most boys his age, he was totally _______in cars or girls.

A. interesting

B. interested

C. disinterested

2. Answer

The above is all the knowledge about Interested in, including the formula, usage notes, and equivalent structures. PREP hopes you have a clear understanding of this vocabulary and can use it fluently in exams and daily communication. Wishing you success!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.