Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

"He was appalled at/by/with how dirty the place was."

Could we use 'at', 'by', or 'with' in the sentence?
Is there any difference among 'appalled at', 'appalled by' and 'appalled with'?

Thank you very much.

[cgage2]

You could use any one. At this point it could become a matter of style.
I refer to how the sentence sounds to the ear. This is the stuff that professional writers are concerned with.

[learner1]

Hello cgage2,

Thank you very much for your reply. I found it interesting that they have something to do with writing style. It is too bad that I've never thought of this.

Thanks a lot.