Describing the difference between at and to?

Question

How do you describe the differences between speaking to and speaking at person? When a person is giving a speech and yelling it rather than speaking in normal tone.

Answer 1

I learned that "to" is used when the person, place, or thing is being acted upon, the active recipient or object of, or an active participant in whatever action "to" is the object of, e.g. "she gave the pencil to him," or "he is going to the store." "At" is used when the person, place, or thing is passive in whatever "at" is the object of, e.g. "she is yelling at me," or "he is at his grandmother's house."

Hope this helps!