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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

By Preposition: Meanings, Examples & How to Use It (3 meaning)

Meaning 1：via (by)

by 🔊

/baɪ/

prep.

Used to show the method or tool you use to do something.

Student boarding a school bus by swiping a transit card

via 🔊

➕

/ˈvaɪə/

prep.

Indicates the means or instrument used to accomplish an action.

📁 Category：Transportation & Travel 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Old English 'bī' (near, by).

💡 Mnemonic

By is a tiny word with three big roles: method, location, and agent.

📖 Example

I go to school by bus every morning. 🔊 Every morning, I take a bus to school.

🔗 Collocations

by bus – via bus transportation

by email – using electronic mail

by hand – manually, without machines

🔄 Synonyms

via (prep.) – By way of; through the medium of.

through (prep.) – By means of; using.

using (prep.) – With the aid of; by means of.

📖 Cultural Story

By originates from Old English 'bī' meaning 'near'. Its uses for method and agency evolved over time, becoming a core preposition in English.

Meaning 2：beside (by)

by 🔊

/baɪ/

prep.

Next to or very close to something.

Person sitting by a river on a park bench reading a book

beside 🔊

➕

/bɪˈsaɪd/

prep.

Indicates physical proximity or adjacency.

📁 Category：Natural Geography 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

We had a lovely picnic by the river last weekend. 🔊 Last weekend, we enjoyed a picnic beside the river.

🔗 Collocations

by the window – next to the window

by the door – adjacent to the door

by the sea – beside the ocean

🔄 Synonyms

beside (prep.) – At the side of; next to.

near (prep.) – At or to a short distance away from.

alongside (prep.) – Close to the side of; next to.

🚫 Antonyms

far from (prep.) – At a great distance from.

away from (prep.) – At a distance from.

Meaning 3：agent marker (by)

by 🔊

/baɪ/

prep.

Used in passive sentences to show who or what does the action.

Handwritten note by Alex next to a wrapped gift on desk

agent marker 🔊

➕

/ˈeɪdʒənt ˈmɑːrkər/

prep.

Used in passive sentences to show the person or thing that performs an action.

📁 Category：Language Evolution 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

"The Starry Night" was painted by Vincent van Gogh. 🔊 Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night.

🔗 Collocations

by the author – indicating the writer as the agent

by the government – indicating the governing body as the agent

by the company – indicating the business as the agent