8 Ways to Use the Preposition “by”

The word “by” is very common in English. It can be used in lots of different situations and contexts. It is mostly used as a preposition but it can also in fact be used as an adverb. In this article, I explain the common uses of “by” as a preposition.

“by” + place

The meaning is: beside, at the side of, next to, close to
examples:

• The house is by a river.
• David lives by a train station.
• I would love to live in a house by the sea.

“by” + method of transport

This structure describes how you travel somewhere.

by + train
     car
     boat
     plane
     taxi
     bus
     coach

examples:

• David went to Manchester by train.
• I go to work by car.
• My parents often go to France by boat.
• Our children have never travelled by plane before.

“by” + method of communication

This structure describes how you communicate with someone.

by + telephone
     post
     email
     fax

examples:

• I spoke to her by telephone.
• I will send you the invoice by post.
• Please confirm the order by email.

“by” + method of payment

This structure describes how you pay for something.

by + credit card
     cheque

examples:

• We paid for the computer by cheque.
• Can I pay by credit card?

Note that we do not use “by” for cash payments. We use the preposition “in”:

• David paid in cash for the newspaper.

It is also possible to omit the preposition completely, particularly in spoken English:

• David paid cash for the newspaper.

“by” and the passive

In the passive voice, “by” indicates WHO is doing the action.
First, let’s look at a sentence using the active voice:

• David is cleaning the kitchen.

In the above sentence, “David” is the person doing the action. When we convert this sentence to the passive voice, we say:

• The kitchen is being cleaned by David.

Here are some more examples. These are in the past tense:

• Sarah wrote the book. (active)
  The book was written by Sarah. (passive)
• Our school organised the concert. (active)
  The concert was organised by our school. (passive)

“by” + reflexive pronoun

by + myself
     yourself
     himself, herself, itself
     ourselves
     yourselves
     themselves

This structure means to do something alone.
examples:

• I enjoy reading by myself.
• Sarah is studying by herself.
• Let’s do something by ourselves.
• My parents often go on holiday by themselves.

“by” + -ING verb

This structure describes how to do something. It gives us more information about how to achieve a particular result.
example:

• You can turn on the radio by pressing that button.

question:
How can I turn on the radio?
answer:
by pressing the button
The phrase “pressing the button” describes how to do something (how to turn on the radio).

“by” + time expression

The meaning of this structure is:  not later than; before or at a particular time
We use this structure for deadlines. A deadline is the time before which something must be done.
examples:

• Guests must vacate their hotel rooms by 11 am.
• Please send us the payment by tomorrow.
• Students must enrol by the end of June.