impressed by/with

[Pooh]

1. I’m impressed by your fabulous cooking.
2. I’m impressed with your knowledge and experience.

What is the difference b/w “impressed by” and “impressed with”?
Thank you!

[Cerberus]

The difference is a bit vague in many cases. Here is an explanation by susan53 at eslhq.com/forums/esl-forums/ … sed-14552/ :

1. When there’s a passive involved, it’s generally a matter of “agent” or “instrument”.

By expresses the agent of the action and with the instrument. That’s clear in a sentences like He was killed by a hunter/He was killed with a shotgun.

But sometimes we see the “instrument” as being the “agent” - so, He was killed by a random bullet. Here, we’re not interested in the real, human, agent, so we see the bullet itself as the agent.

2. When there’s an emotional reaction involved, we can still talk about the agent using “by”… I was bored/impressed/surprised by the film.

Or alternatively we can use with/at to express the cause of the reaction - at tends to be used with a noun that really describes an action/event: I was surprised at his behaviour / I was surprised at the way the film ended; with when it’s a person or object: I was delighted with the present / I was bored with the film.

[Dewaniveena]

have,had,was

[Pooh]

Mmmmm…

I may understood, or may not.