frightened of

[thru]

Hi,

Is it true that "Frightened" cannot always be followed by of + pronoun or noun?
I am confused about the statment above because I found some examples from dictionary which 'frightened' can be followed by of+ pronoun or noun. e.g.

"I am frightened of snakes (noun).

"Her father had an awful temper and she was always frightened of him (pronoun).

Could someone please give me some advice about my confusion?

Many thanks

[2006]

You should say:

I am afraid of snakes. I am frightened by snakes.

'and she was always afraid of him.' 'and she was (often)(always) frightened by him.'

Which dictionary are you talking about?

[thru]

Thank you very much, 2006 for replying.
You can take a look at:
Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Cambridge University Press
and
LDOCE Online

I have another queston about 'frightened of+ v-ing or +to v'
e.g.

"I was frightened of being left by myself in the house."

"The boy was frightened to speak."

What is the different meaning when using 'frightened of' and 'frightened to' here?

Many thanks

Thanks

[2006]

That's a British dictionary so maybe they say that in Britian, but I don't think "frightened of" is commonly said in North America.

I would not say the two sentences, so I can't comment on the difference. I would use 'afraid' instead of "frightened".

But you can say:
a) The boy was too frightened to speak. (= He was so scared he couldn't talk.)
b) The boy was (frightened)(scared) into speaking. (= He didn't want to tell what he knew, but he was told that bad things would happen to him if he didn't tell what he knew.

[thru]

Thank you very much, 2006 for your explanation.