Learning English

How to use 'worth'

Worth usually follows the verb be and is followed by an ING clause. It's commonly used in sentences starting with it.

• It's worth repairing the car.
• It's worth studying hard at school.

In some cases we can move the object to the front of the sentence and remove the it.

• The car is worth repairing.

We can also follow worth with a noun phrase – especially when talking about how much something costs or is worth.

• This house is worth a fortune.
• He's worth £25 an hour and no more.

Worth can be followed by other expressions too, such as a lot, a great deal etc.

• My sister is worth a great deal to me.
• Is it worth everything you own?

Worth appears in many idiomatic phrases:

• It's worth its weight in gold.
• It's not worth the paper it's printed on.
• For what it's worth,I still think about you every day
• It's more trouble than it's worth