Unit 128 · Prepositions

by

Study

You can say that something happens by mistake / by accident / by chance:

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We hadn’t arranged to meet. We met by chance.

But we say ‘do something on purpose’ (= you mean to do it):

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I didn’t do it on purpose. It was an accident.

Note that we say by chance, by accident etc. (not by the chance / by an accident). In these expressions we use by + noun without the or a.

We use by … to say how somebody travels. For example, you can travel:

by car	by train	by plane
by boat	by ship	by bus
by bike	etc.

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Jess usually goes to work by bus / by bike / by car.

We do not use by if we say my car / the train / a taxi etc. We say:

by car but in my car (not by my car)

by train but on the train (not by the train)

We use in for cars and taxis:

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They didn’t come in their car. They came in a taxi.

We use on for bikes and public transport (buses, trains etc.):

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We travelled on the 6.45 train, which arrived at 8.30.

Note that we usually say on foot (not usually by foot):

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Did you come here by car or on foot?

We also use by to say how we do other things. For example, you can:

send something by post pay by card / by cheque do something by hand

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Can I pay by credit card?

But note that we say pay cash or pay in cash (not usually by cash).

We say that ‘something is done by …’ (passive):

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Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

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The programme was watched by millions of people.

Compare by and with:

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The door must have been opened with a key. (not by a key)

(= somebody used a key to open it)

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The door must have been opened by somebody with a key.

We say: a play by Shakespeare, a painting by Rembrandt, a novel by Tolstoy etc.

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Have you read any poems by Shakespeare?

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'Who is this painting by? Picasso?' 'I have no idea.'

By also means ‘next to / beside’:

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The light switch is by the door.

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Come and sit by me. (= next to me)

You can also use by… to show the difference between two things:

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Clare’s salary has increased by ten per cent.

(= it’s now ten per cent more than before)

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Carl won the race by five metres.

(= he was five metres in front of the other runners)

Exercises (5)

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128.1

Complete the sentences. Choose from the box.

by mistakeby handby credit cardby chanceby emailon purpose

1
We don’t need cash. We can pay .example
2
Kate and James keep in touch with one another mainly .
3
I didn’t intend to take your umbrella. I took it .
4
I think he arrived late . He wanted to keep us waiting.
5
Some things are planned. Other things happen .
6
Don’t put my sweater in the washing machine. It has to be washed .

128.2

Put in by, in or on.

1
Jess usually goes to work bus.example
2
I saw Jane this morning. She was the bus.
3
How did you get here? Did you come train?
4
I couldn’t find a seat the train. It was full.
5
How much will it cost to the airport taxi?
6
Did you come here Sarah’s car or yours?
7
The injured man was taken to hospital ambulance.
8
How long does it take to cross the Atlantic ship?
9
He doesn’t drive much. He goes everywhere bike or foot.

128.3

Complete these sentences about books, paintings etc. Choose from the box.

by mosquitoesby one of our playersby lightningby Beethovenby a strange noiseby Leonardo da Vinciby a professional photographer

1
I was woken up in the night .example
2
These pictures were taken .
3
I hate getting bitten .
4
'Mona Lisa' is a famous painting .
5
We lost the game because of a mistake .
6
The plane was damaged , but landed safely.
7
This music is , but I can’t remember what it’s called.

128.4

Put in by, in, on or with.

1
Have you ever been bitten a dog?example
2
We managed to put the fire out a fire extinguisher.
3
Who’s that man standing the window?
4
Do you travel much bus?
5
We travelled my friend’s car because it is larger and more comfortable than mine.
6
It was only accident that I discovered the error.
7
These pictures were taken a very good camera.
8
My friends live in a beautiful house the sea.
9
There were only a few people the plane. It was almost empty.
10
The new railway line will reduce the journey time two hours (from five hours to three).
11
There was a small table the bed a lamp and a clock it.

128.5

Complete the sentences using by.

1
Carl won the race. He was five metres in front of the other runners.
Carl won .example
2
Ten years ago the population of the country was 50 million. Now it is 56 million.
In the last ten years the population has .
3
There was an election. Helen won. She got 25 votes and James got 23.
Helen won .
4
I went to Kate’s office to see her, but she had left work five minutes before I arrived.
I missed .