To be irritated by/with/at

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

What do you think of the following?

[i]I was irritated that he had been put in an awkward position.

A. I was irritated with his having been put in an awkward position.
B. Having been put in an awkward position, irritated me.
C. I was irritated at his having been put in an awkward position.
D. He, having been put in an awkward position, irritated me.[/i]

B and D are out of the question. A semi-native speaker says the correct answer is C because the preposition “with” (A) is incorrect. I, on the other hand, believe the question is poor as both A (with “with”) and C (with “at”) are plausible. What do you think?

Thanks

2

He was put in an awkward position. I was irritated seeing him so. - It was that idea you were trying to express?
Why try to do undoable /complicate simple idea/?
Regards.

3

Hi Eugene,

This is a rephrasing exercise. The original sentence is at the top. Then, four answers follow. Our goal is to pick the one that conveys the exact same meaning.

4

Hi SkiIucK,
Not get irritated by people so much Irritated at infusion site I get irritated at the noise in the Burger King Why do you get so irritated at everything all the time?
Don’t be Irritated at Your Love - those are examples of ‘irritated’ at random. If you’re to pick one of your four sample sentences - sorry, count me out. I wouldn’t use any of them for their being clumsy.
Regards.

5

I think © is correct but agree that (A) is so close in meaning that it’s unfair.

6

Thank you, guys.

Anyone willing to share some more input is welcome as well.

7

Hello SkiIuck

In my opinion the answer is “C” - “at” because the person is expressing their feelings and an emotional reaction to something.

Take a look at these links :

ldoceonline.com/dictionary/at (number 7)
wal.org/wordpress/index.php/ … d-grammar/ ( " An emotional reaction to something often makes use of the preposition “at.” )

Have a nice day.

Marina