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Why don't we use by instead of about in this sentence?

Sunita is very angry about the decision to cancel the meeting.

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  • to be angry about something. Easily googlable, by the way. :) That's just the way it is.
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 27, 2021 at 16:25
  • Is there a reason that you think "by" would make more sense? There isn't always a great theory that explains why a particular preposition is correct.
    – cruthers
    Commented Nov 27, 2021 at 16:27
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    You can say Sunita was made very angry by the decision. Is that what is confusing you? If so perhaps edit that into your question so someone can help to clarify what is going on here.
    – mdewey
    Commented Nov 27, 2021 at 16:29
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    You could say Sunita is very angered by the decision., if you want to use by. That would mean her anger was caused by the decision.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented Nov 27, 2021 at 16:31
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    "About" and "by" are not generally interchangeable. Collins COBUILD has reasonably good definitions: collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/about, collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/by
    – nschneid
    Commented Nov 29, 2021 at 1:32

2 Answers 2

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The word 'by' is often used in passive constructions, where the subject is affected by another entity.

"The soccer ball hit Bob."

"Bob was hit by the soccer ball."

"The decision angered Sunita."

"Sunita was angered by the decision."

Now, modify the sentence to be active voice instead of passive voice.

"Sunita is angry."

"Sunita is angry regarding the result of the decision."

"Sunita is angry about the decision."

Which preposition to use isn't always obvious. This is a clear-cut case though: you can't switch "by" and "about" in the above sentences.

Responses to comments:

  1. Why is it this way? The choice of prepositions is often arbitrary and varies from language to language. Therefore, you just have to memorize it or learn it. There is no clear logic that explains the reason.

  2. The word "by" isn't always a passive-voice indicator. Prepositions are "overloaded" words (in computer programming lingo) where the same word has dozens of meanings. Rather than be distracted by all the different meanings, it's easier to focus on the relevant meaning for the current discussion.

  3. "X is Y" isn't precisely active voice. It's a "copular sentence".

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    I certainly agree that "about" is the correct preposition in this case, but I'm not sure that you answered why. You said that "by" is a "passive word" and gave examples of its use with the passive voice, but it can also be used with the active voice. E.g.: "We walked by the park." "I finished my homework by 9:00."
    – MarcInManhattan
    Commented Nov 28, 2021 at 16:15
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    Sunita is angry is not an "active" sentence: it is neither active nor passive: it is a copular sentence, with no verb apart from the copula "is". But you're right that that use of "by" identifies the agent in a passive sentence. @MarcInManhattan, you are talking about spatial "by" which is a different use of the word.
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Nov 28, 2021 at 16:26
  • @ColinFine Yes, some people consider that sentence neither active nor passive. I consider it to be in active voice. I understand what you're saying, though.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Commented Nov 28, 2021 at 16:40
  • -1 "Joe injured Fred by throwing the ball at him" is very much in the active voice, using the same sense of "by" that is often used to show the agent in a passive construction. I would not say that "The word "by" is a passive word" but rather "The word 'by' is often used in passive constructions." Indeed I would say there is no such thing as a "passive word"
    – David Siegel
    Commented Dec 28, 2021 at 17:48
  • Thank you for the revision. upvoted..
    – David Siegel
    Commented Dec 28, 2021 at 18:14
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Which prepositions a word takes is as arbitrary as the sounds the word is made up of. (In both cases there are some useful patterns among words, but nothing you can rely on).

It happens that angry takes either about or at (occasionally over). It doesn't take by or in, or with, or against, or any of the other prepositions you might think of.

This is an issue which typically concerns learners of a language, because every language has its idiosyncratic cases. I'm currently struggling with Swedish, where you can are "scared for something" (English, "scared of something"), and Irish, where you "listen with something" (English, "listen to something").

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