Good day to all!
Could you please explain me in which cases it's better to use a preposition at and in which we should use by?
- amazed at / amazed by
- astonished at /astonished by
Thank you in advance
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The choice of 'by' emphasises agency (ie emphasises the person / animal / physical object / occurrence prompting the amazement; not necessarly a volitional agent). The choice of 'at' highlights the amazement, if anything.– Edwin AshworthCommented Mar 11, 2015 at 11:01
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1 Answer
Amazed at would be used to describe amazement of a single instance of something.
Amazed by would be more likely to be used as a more general description of amazement.
Julie was amazed/astonished at Ted's impromptu juggling display.
Julie was amazed/astonished by Ted's juggling skills each time he displayed them.
There is a very subtle difference.
The first one would be used to indicate that Julie's amazement is caused by the juggling, whereas in the latter example Ted is causing Julie's amazement.
answered Mar 11, 2015 at 10:54
