by

by¹ W1S1 [baı] prep

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1¦(who/what does something)¦

2¦(means/method)¦

3¦(road/door)¦

4¦(taking hold)¦

5¦(writer/composer etc)¦

6¦(beside)¦

7¦(past)¦

8¦(before)¦

9¦(according to)¦

10¦(change/difference)¦

11¦(measurements)¦

12¦(quantity)¦

13¦(gradual change)¦

14¦(quick change)¦

15¦(light)¦

16 by day/night

17¦(job/nature etc)¦

18¦(visiting)¦

19 (all) by yourself

20¦(multiplying/dividing)¦

21¦(emphasis)¦

22¦(father)¦

23 by the by

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[: Old English; Origin: be, bi]

1.) ¦(WHO/WHAT DOES SOMETHING)¦

used especially with a ↑passive verb to say who or what does something or makes something happen

▪ I was attacked by a dog.

▪ a church designed by the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren

▪ We are all alarmed by the rise in violent crime.

▪ interference by the state in the affairs of the Church

▪ his appointment by the BBC as a producer

2.) ¦(MEANS/METHOD)¦

used to say what means or method someone uses to do something

▪ You can reserve the tickets by phone.

▪ Send it by airmail.

▪ Some customers prefer to pay by cheque.

by car/train/bus/taxi etc

▪ They travelled to Chicago by train.

by air/sea/land/road/rail etc

▪ All supplies are transported by air.

by doing sth

▪ She earns her living by selling insurance.

▪ He was taken from his home by force.

3.) ¦(ROAD/DOOR)¦

used to say which road, entrance, door etc someone uses to get to a place

▪ They came in by the back door.

▪ It's quicker to go by the country route.

4.) ¦(TAKING HOLD)¦

used to say which part of an object or of a person's body someone takes hold of

▪ He took Elaine by the arm and led her across the road.

▪ She grabbed the hammer by the handle.

5.) ¦(WRITER/COMPOSER ETC)¦

used to give the name of someone who wrote a book, produced a film, wrote a piece of music etc

▪ the 'New World Symphony' by Dvorak

▪ a short story by Charles Dickens

▪ Who's it by?

6.) ¦(BESIDE)¦

beside or near something

▪ She stood by the window.

▪ Jane went and sat by Patrick.

7.) ¦(PAST)¦

past someone or something without stopping

▪ He walked right by me without even saying hello.

▪ I pass by the farm every day on my way to work.

8.) ¦(BEFORE)¦

before or not later than a particular time

▪ The documents need to be ready by next Friday.

▪ I reckon the film should be over by 9.30.

▪ By the end of the day we had sold over 2000 tickets.

▪ By the time we got home we were tired and hungry.

9.) ¦(ACCORDING TO)¦

according to a particular rule, method, or way of doing things

▪ You've got to play by the rules.

▪ Profits were £6 million, but by our standards this is low.

10.) ¦(CHANGE/DIFFERENCE)¦

used to say how great a change or difference is

▪ The price of oil fell by a further $2 a barrel.

▪ I was overcharged by £3.

▪ Godard's first film was better by far (=by a large amount or degree) .

11.) ¦(MEASUREMENTS)¦

used to give the measurements of a room, container etc

▪ a room 15 metres by 23 metres

12.) ¦(QUANTITY)¦

used to show what unit of measurement or quantity is involved in selling, paying for, producing etc something

▪ Eggs are sold by the dozen.

▪ We're paid by the hour.

▪ She wanted to tear his hair out by the handful.

13.) ¦(GRADUAL CHANGE)¦

used to say that something happens gradually

▪ Day by day he grew weaker.

▪ Little by little I was beginning to discover the truth about Garfield.

▪ One by one, the men stepped forward.

14.) ¦(QUICK CHANGE)¦

used to say that something or someone is quickly becoming worse, better etc

▪ The financial crisis was growing more serious by the hour.

15.) ¦(LIGHT)¦

used to say that something happens in a particular kind of light

▪ We walked through the palace gardens by moonlight.

16.) by day/night

during the day or the night

▪ a tour of Paris by night

17.) ¦(JOB/NATURE ETC)¦

used when you are giving information about someone's character, job, origin etc

▪ George I and George II were Germans by birth.

▪ Cautious by nature, Simpkin was reluctant to interfere.

▪ Robert Key was a teacher by profession.

18.) ¦(VISITING)¦

in order to visit a person or place for a short time

▪ On the way, I stopped by the post office.

19.) (all) by yourself

a) completely alone

▪ Dave spent Christmas all by himself.

b) without help from anyone

▪ You can't move the furniture all by yourself.

20.) ¦(MULTIPLYING/DIVIDING)¦

used between two numbers when talking about multiplying or dividing

▪ What's 48 divided by 4?

21.) ¦(EMPHASIS)¦

used when expressing strong feelings or making serious promises

▪ By God, I'll kill that boy when I see him!

22.) ¦(FATHER)¦

if a woman has children by a particular man, that man is the children's father

▪ She's got two children by her previous husband.

23.) by the by

spoken used when mentioning something that may be interesting but is not particularly important

▪ By the by, Ian said he might call round tonight.

→by the way at ↑way

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WORD CHOICE: by, with, in

by is used especially in passives, to say who or what does or causes something : She was hit by a truck. |a book written by Peter Carey

Use with or in after verbs which describe a state rather than an action : The room was lit with candles. | Her house is always filled with music. | The books were covered in dust.

Use with to say what tool you use to do something : I got the stain out with this brush (NOT by this brush).

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by ²

by² W1S1 adv

1.) past someone or something

▪ As I was standing on the platform, the Liverpool train went whizzing by.

▪ James walked by without even looking in my direction.

2.) used to say that time passes

▪ As the summer days slipped by, it was easy to forget about the war.

▪ Ten years had gone by since I had last seen Marilyn.

3.) beside or near someone or something

▪ A crowd of people were standing by, waiting for an announcement.

4.) in order to visit a person or place for a short time

▪ Why don't you stop by for a drink after work?

5.) by and large

used when making a general statement

▪ By and large, the new arrangements have worked well.

6.) by and by

old use soon

▪ She will be better by and by.