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I came across a point of view that when you use "by" it means you are affected by the tool itself, whereas when you use "with" it would mean that you are affected by the actor's tool, like:

  • "I was fascinated by his manners." - you were fascinated by the manner itself.
  • "I was fascinated with his manners." - you were fascinated by him because of his manners, so he used his manners as a tool - "He fascinated me with his manners."
  • "I was impressed by/with his speech" ...

Do you think it is appropriate in similar cases? Also, can we use "of" here?

"I was fascinated/impressed of his manners."

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    We usually use preposition by to connect a "verb of reaction" to the noun phrase causing that reaction. But not always - we're more likely to say I was interested in his plan, for example (why by is a semi-valid" alternative, but with is a complete no-no). With your exact examples, with works better with impressed than fascinated, but they're both at least "acceptable", whereas in doesn't work at all (and nor does of).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented May 13, 2022 at 12:35
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    Your point about I was fascinated with his manners implying that he deliberately used his mannerisms (as a "tool") to impress you is completely spurious. It's just a less common choice of preposition than by. Consider The building impressed me with its size, where the building isn't doing anything "deliberately". With is an exceptionally broad-based preposition, with many different shades of meaning.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented May 13, 2022 at 12:41
  • 'affected by the actor's tool' oo-er missus!
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented May 13, 2022 at 12:56

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