What is the difference between "amazed at" and "amazed by"?
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
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.