Preposition BY – Meaning and use

“by” is a very common word in English.

“by” is usually a preposition but it can also be used as an adverb.

In this lesson, you’ll learn 6 common uses of “by” as a preposition.

“by” + place

When “by” is used as a preposition of place before a place, it means “beside” / “at the side of” / “next to”

Example:

The house is by a lake. (next to a lake)
I live by the River Thames.
We live by an airport.

“by” + noun

“by” + noun has many different uses and meanings in English.

The general meaning is “a method of something”  The precise meaning depends on the category of noun:

to describe a method of travel

by train
by car
by boat
by plane
by taxi
by bus

Example:

Jane is going to France by plane.
I went to London by train.
Let’s go by car.

to describe a method of communication

by phone
by email
by post
by fax

Examples:

I will send you the report by fax.
Contact us by phone.
Mark received the order by email.

to describe a method of payment

by credit card
by cheque

Examples:

I’d like to pay by credit card.
We paid for the car by cheque.

Exception – We do NOT say “by cash” – We say IN cash.

Example: I paid in cash for the newspaper.

“by” and the passive voice

In the passive voice, “by” indicates WHO is doing the action.

Examples:

The floor is being cleaned by Jane.
The dress was made by Sarah.
The book was written by my father.

 

by + reflexive pronoun

by myself
by yourself
by himself / by herself / by itself
by ourselves
by yourselves
by themselves

This means to do something alone. To do something without the company, help or assistance of others.

Examples:
I visited London by myself.
You should go by yourself.

Jane is studying by herself.
We went to New York by ourselves.
Jane and Mark often go travelling by themselves.

by + ING form of verb

This describes how to do something. It describes the method for achieving a a particular result.

Example:

Mark stays fit by cycling to work.

In the above example, the result is “stays fit”.  The method is “by cycling“

The “by” + ING clause can come before or after the result. If the “by” + ING clause is before the result, we write a comma between the clauses.

Examples:
You can turn on the television by pressing that button. (“by” + ING clause AFTER the result)
By pressing that button, you can turn on the television. (“by” + ING clause BEFORE the result with a comma.)

“by” + time expression

“by” can also act as a preposition of time and we use it with a time expression.

The meaning is: “not later than” or “before or at a particular time”. We use this structure for deadlines.

by tomorrow
by next week
by + day of the week
by + month of the year
by + date
by 9 o’clock
by 7 pm

Examples:

Please send us the contract by Friday.
You must leave the hotel room by 11 am.

More lessons

Prepositions of time “by” and “until”
FOR and DURING – English prepositions
In, on and at | Prepositions of place
How to use DO and MAKE in English
IELTS online course and writing corrections

Video lesson