Unit 128. By
Unit 128; Part A
We 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
In 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
We 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
 By also means 'beside': • Come and sit by me. (= beside me) • 'Where's the light switch?' 'By the door.' |
Unit 128; Part E
Note the following use of by: • 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
Complete the sentences using by + the following:Key.2 by mistake
3 by hand
4 by credit card
5 by satellite
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.
Put 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?
Write 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 ____________________________________________
Put 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.
All 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 ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ |
Complete 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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