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In this line:

Being too intimate in public places, ignoring social morality and causing embarrassment of others.

Should the preposition after "embarrassment" be "of" or "to"?

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  • In this particular sentence, "to" works a little better than "of," IMO. Also, it should be "public places" (plural). – William Bloom Jul 14 '15 at 3:00
  • Thanks. I think to is better. But is "of" wrong? – Louis Liu Jul 14 '15 at 3:22
  • "causing the embarassment of others", or "causing embarassment to others" (as William says). – Margana Jul 14 '15 at 3:31
  • @LouisLiu, "of" is not wrong, although it sounds strange. In my opinion, it is preferable to rewrite the fragment as, "embarrassing others" (rather than "causing embarrassment of others"). – Jake Regier Jul 14 '15 at 3:56
  • Where is the rest of your sentence? This could either be the beginning or the end of a full sentence. With a full sentence, it's possible that from could be more necessary, if not mandatory. – dockeryZ Jul 15 '15 at 23:57
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embarrassment to

The same way as you can cause

  • harm to
  • damage to
  • danger to
  • resentment to
  • pain to
  • discontent to

These all have a negative mood to them. And I can't imagine embarrassment ever being a positive thing either. The object is receiving the action (and effect) of cause.

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