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Unit 128. By




Unit 128; Part A


galka.jpgWe use by in many expressions to say how we do something. For example, you can:

        send something by post    contact somebody by phone / by email / by fax
        do something by hand      pay by cheque / by credit card

      Can I pay by credit card?
      You can contact me by phone, by fax or by email.

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

We also say by mistake / by accident / by chance:
      We hadn't arranged to meet. We met by chance.


But we say 'do something on purpose'
(= you mean to do it):
      I didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident.

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

Unit 128; Part B


galka.jpgIn the same way we use by ... to say how somebody travels:

by car / by train / by plane / by boat / by ship / by bus / by bike
etc.
by road / by rail / by air / by sea / by underground
      Joanne usually goes to work by bus.
      Do you prefer to travel by air or by train?

But we say on foot:
      Did you come here by car or on foot?


You cannot use by if you say my car / the train / a taxi
etc. We use by + noun without 'a/the/my' 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:
      They didn't come in their car. They came in a taxi.


We use on for bicycles and public transport
(buses, trains etc.):
      We travelled on the 6.45 train.

Unit 128; Part C


galka.jpgWe say that 'something is done by somebody/something' (passive):

      Have you ever been bitten by a dog?
      The programme was watched by millions of people.

Compare by and with:
      The door must have been opened with a key.
  (not by a key)
      (= somebody used a key to open it)
      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. :
      Have you read anything by Ernest Hemingway?

Unit 128; Part D


128.1.jpggalka.jpgBy also means 'beside':                                         

      Come and sit by me.  (= beside me)
      'Where's the light switch?'    'By the door.'

Unit 128; Part E


galka.jpgNote the following use of by:

128.2.jpg      Clare's salary has just gone up from £2,000 a month to £2,200. So it has increased by £200 / by ten per cent.
      Carl and Mike had a race over 200 metres. Carl won by about three metres.




Exercises

flag.jpgComplete the sentences using by + the following:
Key.2    by mistake
3    by hand
4    by credit card
5    by satellite

 
chance    credit card    hand    mistake    satellite
 
1    We hadn't arranged to meet. We met    by chance   .   
2    I didn't intend to take your umbrella. I took it _______________.
3    Don't put the sweater in the washing machine. It has to be washed _______________.
4    I don't need cash. I can pay the bill _______________.
5    The two cities were connected _______________ for a television programme.

flag.jpgPut in by, in or on.
Key.2    on
3    by
4    by car ... on my bike
5    in
6    on
7    by


1    Joanne usually goes to work    by    bus
2    I saw Jane this morning. She was _____ the bus.
3    How did you get here? Did you come _____ train?
4    I decided not to go _____ car. I went _____ my bike instead.
5    I didn't feel like walking home, so I came home _____ a taxi.
6    Sorry we're late. We missed the bus, so we had to come _____ foot.
7    How long does it take to cross the Atlantic _____ ship?

flag.jpgWrite three sentences like the examples. Write about a song, a painting, a film, a book etc.
Key.Example answers:
3-5 Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce.
Yesterday is a song by Paul McCartney.
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso.


1    War and Peace is a book by Tolstoy.                    
2    Romeo and Juliet is a play by Shakespeare.       
3    ____________________________________________
4    ____________________________________________
5    ____________________________________________

flag.jpgPut in by, in, on or with.
Key.2    by
3    with
4    by
5    by
6    by car ... in your car
7    by the bed with a lamp and a clock on it


1    Have you ever been bitten    by    a dog?
2    The plane was badly damaged ______ lightning.
3    We managed to put the fire out ______ a fire extinguisher.
4    Who is that man standing ______ the window?
5    These photographs were taken ______ a friend of mine.
6    I don't mind going ______ car, but I don't want to go ______ your car.
7    There was a small table ______ the bed ______ a lamp and a clock ______ it.

flag.jpgAll these sentences have a mistake. Correct them.
Key.2    travelling by bus or  travelling on the bus  or  travelling on buses
3    taken with a very good camera
4    this music is by Beethoven
5    pay cash  or  pay in cash
6    a mistake by one of our players
1    Did you come here by Kate's car or yours?
2    I don't like travelling on bus.       
3    These photographs were taken by a very good camera   
4    I know this music is from Beethoven, but I can't       
      remember what it's called.
5    I couldn't pay by cash - I didn't have any money on me.
6    We lost the game only because of a mistake of one of       
     our players.
 in  Kate's car       
________________
________________

________________
________________
________________


flag.jpgComplete the sentences using by.
Key.2    The price has gone up by ten pence.
3    Helen won by two votes.
4    I missed her/Kate by five minutes.


1    Clare's salary was £2,000 a month. Now it is £2,200.
     Her salary    has increased by £ 200 a month.   
2    My daily newspaper used to cost 60 pence. From today it costs 70 pence.
      The price has gone up ______________________________
3    There was an election. Helen won. She got 25 votes and Norman got 23.
     Helen won _________________________________________
4    I went to Kate's house to see her, but she had gone out five minutes before I arrived.
     I missed ___________________________________________


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