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

{slide=1 Complete the sentences using by.}Complete the sentences using by + the following:
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    by mistake
3    by hand
4    by credit card
5    by satellite{end-tooltip}

1    We hadn’t arranged to meet. We met    by chance   .   
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.

{/slide} {slide=2 Put in by, in or on.}Put in by, in or on.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    on
3    by
4    by car … on my bike
5    in
6    on
7    by{end-tooltip}

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?

{/slide} {slide=3 Write about a song, a painting, a film, a book…}Write three sentences like the examples. Write about a song, a painting, a film, a book etc.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}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.{end-tooltip}

1    War and Peace is a book by Tolstoy.                    
2    Romeo and Juliet is a play by Shakespeare.       
3    ____________________________________________
4    ____________________________________________
5    ____________________________________________

{/slide} {slide=4 Put in by, in, on or with.}Put in by, in, on or with.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}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{end-tooltip}

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.

{/slide} {slide=5 All these sentences have a mistake. Correct them.}All these sentences have a mistake. Correct them.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}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{end-tooltip}

{/slide} {slide=6 Complete the sentences using by.}Complete the sentences using by.
{tooltip}Key.{end-link}2    The price has gone up by ten pence.
3    Helen won by two votes.
4    I missed her/Kate by five minutes.{end-tooltip}

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 ___________________________________________ {/slide}

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