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By

By is a preposition or an adverb.

By and time​

We use by meaning ‘not later than’ to refer to arrangements and deadlines:

  • They said that the plumber would be here by Monday.
  • The postman is always here by 11 am.

We use by the time, meaning ‘when’, to connect an action that has happened or will have happened before a second action. The action that happened second comes after by the time:

  • By the time [action 2] you wake up, [action 1] I’ll have finished work! (When you wake up, I will have finished work)
  • Not: By the time you will wake up …
  • Unfortunately the man had died by the time the ambulance arrived. (When the ambulance arrived, the man had already died.)
See also
  • Before, by, till, until

By and the passive​

When we use the passive voice, we can use a phrase with by to say who did the action:

  • The new street was opened by the Mayor.
  • The wedding cake was made by Henry’s mother.
See also
  • Passives with an agent
  • Passives without an agent

By meaning ‘how to do something’​

We use by + -ing form to describe how to do something:

  • By pressing this button, you turn on the alarm system. Then by entering the code 0089, you can turn it off again.

We use by + noun to describe how someone travels or communicates, or how things are processed:

  • I’ll send it by email; I can send it by post as well if you wish.
  • Can I pay by credit card?

We say by car, by bus, by plane, etc. but if there is a determiner (e.g. a/an, the, some, my, his) before the noun, we say in or on.

Compare

We went by train to Pisa.It’s easier to get there by car.Did you travel by plane?by + mode of transport
I’ll have to go on the 5 am train.Barbara is travelling in Ann’s car.Have you ever travelled in a small plane?on/in + determiner + mode of transport
warning

When we walk, we say on foot:

  • It takes me just 20 minutes to get to work on foot.
  • Not: … to get to work by foot.

By + myself etc​

When we say by + myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, it means ‘alone’. We sometimes use all for emphasis:

  • They painted the whole house by themselves! (They did it alone.)
  • I was all by myself in the house last night but I didn’t mind. (I was alone.)
  • Did you build that castle all by yourself? (Did you do it alone?)
See also
  • Pronouns: reflexive (myself, themselves, etc.)

By and place​

We use by to mean ‘beside’ or ‘at the side of’:

  • There’s a lovely café by the river. We could go there. (The café is beside the river.)

By and near have a similar meaning but by refers to a shorter distance:

Compare

I live by a football stadium.The stadium is beside my house.
I live near a football stadium.The stadium is in my neighbourhood.

We also use by to mean ‘movement past something’:

  • Three people walked by the house as Henry opened the door. (They walked past the house.)

By as an adverb is often used in this sense:

  • Lisa waved as she went by. (She passed the house without stopping.)

By and measurements and amounts​

We use by to talk about measurements, and increases and decreases in amounts:

  • My bedroom is just three metres by two metres! (three metres in one direction and two metres in the other direction)
  • When you work part-time, you are usually paid by the hour.
  • The price of fuel has increased by 12% this year.

By meaning ‘during’​

We sometimes use by + day and by + night to mean ‘during the day or the night’:

  • He works by night and sleeps by day.

By meaning ‘written’ or ‘composed’​

We use by when we talk about the writers of books, songs, poems, symphonies, etc.:

  • What’s the name of the latest song by U2?
  • This website makes works by Beethoven available free for downloading.

You will find other meanings of by in a good learner’s dictionary.

By: typical errors​

We say by car, by bus, by plane etc. but if there is a determiner (e.g. a/an, the, some, his), we say in or on:

  • They always travel on the bus.
  • Not: … by the bus.

We use by, not with, to talk about the action of something:

  • He got into the house by breaking the window. (action)
  • Not: … with breaking the window.

We use with, not by, to refer to the object or instrument that we use to do something!

  • He broke the window with a rock. (object/instrument)
  • Not: … by a rock.