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Surprised "at" or "by"

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by wilderness » Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:43 am
Hi,

Can someone clarify if its correct to use "Surprised at" or is "surprised by" better.

e.g. I was surprised at his strange behavior. OR I was surprised by his strange behavior.

Or is it that both are true and one has to use "surprised at something" and "surprised by someone" ???

Thanks in advance.
EJ
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by kapilnegi » Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:56 am
surprised - adjective.

1. surprised at something
e.g. We were surprised at the news.

2. surprised by somebody.
e.g. He was rather surprised by her reply.

I hope this helps.
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by wilderness » Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:30 am
Hi,

Thanks, but there is a contradiction in the example. Becase in the first case its "news" (which is something) and in the second case its "reply" (which is again something). Even if its "her" reply, its still the reply that surprised him, not her. So the second sentence should also have "at".

So following your rule, it should be

He was surprised by her. (Passive of She surprised him).
He was rather surprised at her reply.

Do you agree ?

Regards,
E J
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