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Paco2004 Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Surprised at/by/etc
Hello Teachers
I'm interested in what preposition is most used in combination with 'be surprised' and googled 'I was surprised about/at/by/in/with X'. The result was as follows;
(1) I was surprised at X. 213,000
(2) I was surprised by X. 154,000
(3) I was surprised with X. 13,500
(4) I was surprised about X. 9,410
(5) I was surprised in X. 5,210
The result clearly shows 'be surprised at' and 'be surprised by' are in dominant usage. But if you find such phrases like 'be surprised about/in/with' in the essays of your students, do you correct them? And is their difference between 'be surprised at' and 'be surprised by'? Thank you in advance.
paco
I'm interested in what preposition is most used in combination with 'be surprised' and googled 'I was surprised about/at/by/in/with X'. The result was as follows;
(1) I was surprised at X. 213,000
(2) I was surprised by X. 154,000
(3) I was surprised with X. 13,500
(4) I was surprised about X. 9,410
(5) I was surprised in X. 5,210
The result clearly shows 'be surprised at' and 'be surprised by' are in dominant usage. But if you find such phrases like 'be surprised about/in/with' in the essays of your students, do you correct them? And is their difference between 'be surprised at' and 'be surprised by'? Thank you in advance.
paco
Top answer
There isn't any "surprised in" that I can think of. I Googled these and found that "in" was the beginning of a prepositional phrase that interrupted "surprise" plus some other preposition. I was surprised, in fact, to hear that ...
- There isn't any "surprised in" that I can think of.
- I Googled these and found that "in" was the beginning of a prepositional phrase that interrupted "surprise" plus some other preposition.
- I was surprised, in fact, to hear that ...
- I was surprised in November with a wonderful gift from ...
- I was surprised in Africa by the number of ...
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6 Answers
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There isn't any "surprised in" that I can think of.
I Googled these and found that "in" was the beginning of a prepositional phrase that interrupted "surprise" plus some other preposition.
I was surprised, in fact, to hear that ...
I was surprised in November with a wonderful gift from ...
I was surprised in Africa by the number of ...
If the preposition makes s
I Googled these and found that "in" was the beginning of a prepositional phrase that interrupted "surprise" plus some other preposition.
I was surprised, in fact, to hear that ...
I was surprised in November with a wonderful gift from ...
I was surprised in Africa by the number of ...
If the preposition makes s
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CJ
Huurm...your comment is always interesting and very helpful to my understanding English to depth. Yes I too feel 'S be surprised at O' is a false passive (or semi-active) construct. The action 'be surprised' in this sentence sounds directed from S to O. On the other hand 'S be surprised by O' is a true passive construct, where the action originates from O and moves towards S. Very i
Huurm...your comment is always interesting and very helpful to my understanding English to depth. Yes I too feel 'S be surprised at O' is a false passive (or semi-active) construct. The action 'be surprised' in this sentence sounds directed from S to O. On the other hand 'S be surprised by O' is a true passive construct, where the action originates from O and moves towards S. Very i
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"understanding English indepth" 
Yes, there are many gradations of passive!
Yes, there are many gradations of passive!
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They can be synonyms, but there is a shade of difference.
When you say
I was surprised by his behavior
it is the passive voice, like saying
his behavior surprised me, or
his behavior took me by surprise.
When you say
I am surprised at you
there is slightly more of a judgmental cast to it,
implying that you had expected better from him.
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