nag (at) somebody

[tigerduck]

Hello

I was wondering whether nag somebody and nag at somebody has the same meaning.

Can I say:

If she'd only stopped nagging at me, I might actually help.
If she'd only stopped nagging me, I might actually help.

I'm always nagging at him about his diet.
I'm always nagging him about his diet.

 

[KON]

I think nag at somebody is more grammaticaly accurate. That's because the preposition at in this context is directing "the nag" to someone.

Consider the verb to shout: My mother always shouts at me. if it was without the preposition, to me at least it would sound a bit odd.

In this case I would personally use nag at, eg. my girlfriend always nags at me about being late all the time.

 

[kitenok]

I think nag at somebody is more grammaticaly accurate.

I would always use "nag" in this sense with a direct object, not a preposition of any sort. If I heard a native speaker say "I'm always nagging at him about his diet" I would probably wonder what s/he meant by putting that unnecessary preposition in there.

 

[Welshie]

"to nag at someone" sounds very clumsy to me. I would say "nag someone". KON makes a fair point, but prepositions not always necessary for it to be clear on whom the verb is acting. Consider:

"My mother annoys me"

for eg.

 

[Salvage]

For me, nagging with an object is used the same way as annoy. I annoy someone, I nag someone. The preposition is unnecessary, it doesn't add any information.

 

[Thomas1]

It is interesting that all native speakers, who have responded so far, seem to reject the preposition at with nag.
I was also taught to use them together.

I've given myself a browse of my dictionary (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English), here's what it says:
1
to keep asking someone to do something, or to keep complaining to someone about their behaviour, in an annoying way
ￚsee also pester I wish you'd stop nagging!
nag somebody to do something
Nadia's been nagging me to fix the lamp.
nag somebody about something
She keeps nagging me about my weight.
nag at
He’s always nagging at Paula for wearing too much makeup.
2
to make someone feel continuously worried or uncomfortable
nag at
a problem that had been nagging at him for days
One question still nagged me.


Curious...

Tom

 

[Arrius]

To nag at somebody iis more aggressive and sustained than simply to nag somebody.

 

[Ynez]

I have been confused with this word. I used it as a synonym of "scold" (with the preposition "at"), but it's normally used as a synonym of "annoy", right?

With an example, would you say:

The teacher nagged at me for being late.

with or without "at"?

In the original example it is with "scold".

 

[kitenok]

I have been confused with this word. I used it as a synonym of "scold" (with the preposition "at"), but it's normally used as a synonym of "annoy", right?

I would say that pester and, perhaps, bother are the closest synonyms of nag as I use the verb in AE. Nagging is annoying, to be sure, but it's just one of thousands of types of annoying behavior.

To adapt your example with the teacher: "My teacher constantly nags me about being on time" would be a natural use of nag, and would roughly mean that your teacher annoys you by repeatedly reminding you to be on time.

 

[Ynez]

Thank you, kitenok. Your example was very useful to me.

 

[KON]

"to nag at someone" sounds very clumsy to me. I would say "nag someone". KON makes a fair point, but prepositions not always necessary for it to be clear on whom the verb is acting. Consider:

"My mother annoys me"

for eg.

I have to be honest here, I've caught myself sometimes saying "stop nagging me" to someone. I thought it was a difference between AmE and BrE, because I think in AmE prepositions are used less often than in BrE.

eg
I'll see you on Saturday night BrE
I'll see you Saturday night AmE

 

[redgiant]

Example: The way my friend sneered at me when I announced that I got cast in a Livetime movie has been nagging at/X me all weeks.

Does "It nagged at" suggest that the nagging is less aggressive, but more recurrent and persistent? For instance, when I was busy with something else, I could put the problem aside, but it'd come back to you when you had nothing else to do.

"It nagged me" suggests the nagging is aggressive at it over a period. I couldn't put my mind off it even as I was trying to occupy myself with something else.

I'd like to hear what you think about this.

 

[cycloneviv]

I think in this example you need "nagging at".

See Thomas1's definitions in post #6.

A person can nag another person by repeatedly saying they should do something.

The way a person sneered at you cannot actually nag you. It can nag at you by staying in your mind and making you upset on a regular basis.

As a result, I can't give you an answer about whether "nag at" or "nag" sounds more or less aggressive in the context you have given, as only one of them is correct.

 

[redgiant]

Thanks cycloneviv~~