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Thread: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

  1. #1
    mokbon is offline Member
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    Default Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    Hi?

    First, I've always thanked for everyone in this website.

    And this is my question with a part of article.

    The 52-year-old former driver says that in October, as board members watched, a trucking company owner beat him repeatedly with an aluminum baseball bat in anger over Yoo's former union activities.
    South Korean conglomerates act as though they are above the law - Los Angeles Times

    I found that the verb angry goes with at, about, over.
    Do these have different meanings?
    What is the usage of over in this context?
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  2. #2
    dut_thinker is offline Junior Member
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    Default Re: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    Quote Originally Posted by mokbon View Post
    Hi?

    First, I've always thanked for everyone in this website.

    And this is my question with a part of article.

    The 52-year-old former driver says that in October, as board members watched, a trucking company owner beat him repeatedly with an aluminum baseball bat in anger over Yoo's former union activities.
    South Korean conglomerates act as though they are above the law - Los Angeles Times

    I found that the verb angry goes with at, about, over.
    Do these have different meanings?
    What is the usage of over in this context?
    First, I want to tell you that 'angry' is not a verb but an adjective.
    Second, when you are irritated by sb, you can say I am angry with sb; when you are irritated by sth, you can say I am angry at/ about sth.
    Generally, be angry at sth has the same meaning with be angry about.
    Howerver, in the following example, about can not be replaced by at
    Ex:(1) She was angry about his laughing at her.
    Because here to use about to avoid the repeat of at.
    In addition, be angry at is focusing on people's behavior.
    Ex: I was angry at his slipshod work.

    If you want to express you are very very angry with sb, you can also say be angry at sb.
    Ex: We were angry at the boys for their tardiness.

    As for angry over, I know nothing about it.
    Hope it helps.
    [not a native]
    Last edited by dut_thinker; 03-Jan-2012 at 06:21.
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  3. #3
    TheParser is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    a trucking company owner beat him repeatedly with an aluminum baseball bat in anger over Yoo's former union activities.



    What is the usage of over in this context?


    NOT A TEACHER


    (1) May I add just a few words to dut_thinker's excellent answer?

    (2) First, it might be helpful to remember:

    angry = adjective.

    anger = noun (in your sentence).

    (3) According to many books:

    I am angry at/with Mona (a person).
    I am angry about/over the current political situation. (something)

    (4) When we use "anger" as a noun, we also use either "about" or "over."

    (a) Here is a sentence that I found at the very reliable Learner's Dictionary on the Web:

    "The group expressed its anger over/about the company's arrogance."

    (5) I cannot explain why, but I feel that "over" is definitely the better preposition in

    your sentence.

    P.S. The Fowler brothers (they wrote books on "good" English) reminded us that

    prepositions are NOT really grammar. They are idioms. That is, native speakers in each English-speaking country decide by usage which prepositions are "correct." If you continue to read a lot of American newspapers, you will discover that "in anger over" is a very popular phrase.
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  4. #4
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    5jj
    5jj is online now Moderator
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    Default Re: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    Quote Originally Posted by dut_thinker View Post
    First, I want to tell you that 'angry' is not a verb but an adjective.
    Second, when you are irritated by sb, you can say "I am angry with sb"; when you are irritated by sth, you can say "I am angry at/ about sth".
    Generally, 'be angry at sth' has the same meaning with as 'be angry about'.
    Howerver, in the following example, 'about' cannot be replaced by 'at':
    Ex:(1) She was angry about his laughing at her., B because here to we use about to avoid the repeat of at.

    Some people might prefer to use 'about' here, but there is nothing wrong with 'at'.

    In addition, be angry at is focusing on people's behavior.
    Ex: I was angry at his slipshod work. 'About' is fine here.

    If you want to express you are very very angry with sb, you can also say be angry at sb.
    Ex: We were angry at the boys for their tardiness. 'With' is fine here.
    5
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    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


  5. #5
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    Default Re: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    Quote Originally Posted by TheParser View Post
    The Fowler brothers [...]t reminded us that prepositions are NOT really grammar. They are idioms. That is, native speakers in each English-speaking country decide by usage which prepositions are "correct." If you continue to read a lot of American newspapers, you will discover that "in anger over" is a very popular phrase.
    TheParser and mokbon like this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


  6. #6
    dut_thinker is offline Junior Member
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    Default Re: Angry with, angry at, angry over?

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    5
    Thank you for your correction, 5jj.
    I am not a native speaker, but i like to share the idear with others.
    I have to say sorry that sometimes my reply might confuse the questoiner.
    So I hope the native speaker could correct my reply like 5jj.
    mokbon likes this.

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