Adjective + appropriate form

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Rustamsher
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Adjective + appropriate form

Post by Rustamsher »

As Tohir was going through the book department, he was suprised ... an old friend.

(a) at meeting
(b) to meet

I'm wondering which one is correct. We say "I was suprised at (OR by) the news".
But "be suprised" is followed by a verb, which option should we choose:

(a) preposition + -ing form OR
(b) full infinitive

Or is there ANY difference between the two choices (in terms of meaning/stylistics and so on)?

Many thanks..
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Alan
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Re: Adjective + appropriate form

Post by Alan »

(b) is correct.
'At' is reserved for nouns. There is no gerund construction in this case.
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