by / in cancelling

[bigC]

It was a simple question. Why did this thread turn into a three-page discussion?

Start a new post to discuss, it is an interesting topic.

 

[MikeNewYork]

BigC, if you comment on posts in a thread, you need to indicate that you are not a teacher, You can either add that to your posts or put it in your signature.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


I am delighted to share some examples with any members or guests who are following this topic.

I went to the "books" section of Google, where thousands of books have been digitalized for our reading pleasure.

I typed in "disappointed fans in." No results (for "in" + gerund).
I typed in "disappointed fans by." Dozens of results.

1. "[H]e disappointed fans by abstaining from the world championship." (CHESS LIFE, 1974)
2. "The owner of the Red Sox disappointed fans by selling Babe's contract to the Yankees." (BUILDING COMPREHENSION, 1999).
3. "The film ... disappoints fans by deviating somewhat from the plot of the novel." (a result entitled NICHOLAS CAGE)
4. "[The Beatles] ... disappointed fans by deciding not to renew their Christmas revue." (THE BEATLES ON MUSIC)


I have yet to find a definitive answer. Until then, however, I guess that it would be safe to go with "by" in the kind of sentence posted by the OP.

 

[Matthew Wai]

... does the word "by" implied the band cancelled the concert intentionally ...

I think 'by' does not imply 'by means of' here because people seldom disappoint others intentionally, but I am not a teacher.

 

[Barb_D]

Shall we summarize?

Mike would use only "by." (And so would I, and Mike and I are both American English speakers.)
Others say you can use either "by" or "in." (I don't dispute their use in their dialect.)

There is ZERO sense that there was any intention by the band to disappoint their fans. They cancelled the concert. As a result, fans were disappointed.
If you do want to suggest an intention (which is ludicrous in this example, but serves to illustrate the point in writing), use "to": Agent did something [in order] to achieve their intended result.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


"Noticeably on the increase is a peculiar [my emphasis] use of in, usually followed by an -ing form of some verb, in a way that sometimes befogs the intended meaning and sometimes contradicts it."

-- Wilson Follett, Modern American Usage (1980). Mr. Follett died in 1963. His friends Jacques Barzun and six others edited and completed his manuscript.

Mr. Follett says that each "in" in the following sentence should be changed to by:

"Specialists have contributed both in determining what words to be included and in framing accurate. precise definitions."

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with Mr. Follett.