Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

She expects the surprises of you.
She expects the surprises from you.

Are they both correct?

Thanks

[MrPedantic]

Hello Miss D.

#1 looks incorrect to me.

#2 looks grammatical, but is rather unusual. What's the context?

MrP

[missdaredevil]

It is Pam's birthday. She seems to expect more suprises from/of you.

[MrPedantic]

Ah yes. In that context, "She seems to expect more surprises from you" is fine; you would usually say "expect X from someone".

However, in some other phrases, "expect X of someone" is fine, where X is a characteristic or action, rather than an item, e.g.

1. That's exactly the kind of behaviour I would have expected of you.
2. He did more than we would have expected of him.

MrP

[missdaredevil]

He did more than we would have expected of him.
What could he have done that was unexpected of?

Thanks