Which of the following sentences uses prepositions correctly? a. where is my science textbook at? b. kevin was relieved the meeting was over by noon. c. maryann was glad to have her dentist appointment over with. d. my mother is always asking me where i am going to!

The option B “Kevin was relieved the meeting was over by noon” is a sentence that uses prepositions properly. The preposition ‘by’ is well-put on the sentence.

EXPLANATION:

The word “by” is usually used in English. It can be used in lots of different conditions and contexts. It is mainly used as a preposition but it can also, in fact, be used as an adverb. The explanation below describes the general uses of “by” as a preposition.

1.“by” + place

meaning is: at the side of, beside, close to, next to. Examples:

•The house is by the office.

•Erika lives by a garden.

•I would love to live in a house by the lake.

2.“by” + method of transport

structure explains how to travel somewhere such as  

+ train/car/boat/plane/taxi/bus/coach. Examples:

•Ernest went to Manchester by train.

•I go to work by motorcycle.

•My cousins often go to France by plane.

•Our grandparents have never traveled by train before.

3.“by” + method of communication

structure explains how to communicate with someone.

+ telephone/post/email/fax. Examples:

•I spoke to Diana by telephone.

•She will send you the invoice by post.

•Please confirm the order by email.

4.“by” + method of payment

structure explains how to pay for something.

+ credit card/cheque. Examples:

•We paid for the machine by cheque.

•Can I pay by credit card?

•that “by” can be used for cash payments. It must use the preposition “in”:

•Elisa paid in cash for the books.

•is also possible to delete the preposition wholly, especially in spoken English:

•Elisa paid cash for the books.

5.“by” and the passive

the passive voice, “by” signifies WHO is doing the action. First, take a look at the sentence using the active voice:

•Eki is cleaning the kitchen.

•the above sentence, “Eki” is the person who does the action. When it is converted this sentence to the passive voice:

•The kitchen is being cleaned by Eki.

•are some examples. These are in the past tense:

•Salma wrote the book. (active)

•The book was written by Salma. (passive)

•Our office organized the concert. (active)

•The concert was organized by our office. (passive)

6.“by” + reflexive pronoun

structure means to do something alone.

+ myself/yourself/himself/herself/itself/ourselves/yourselves/themselves. Examples:

•I enjoy eating by myself.

•Salma is studying by herself.

•Let’s do this thing by ourselves.

•My parents usually go on holiday by themselves.

7.“by” + -ING verb

the structure explains how to do something. It provides us more information about how to get a certain result. Example:

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

•the phrase “pressing the button” explains how to do something (how to turn on the radio).

8.“by” + time expression

meaning of this structure is: not later than; before or at a particular time. The preposition “by” can also be employed in deadlines. A deadline is a time before that something must be done. Examples:

•Guests must leave their hotel rooms by 11 am.

•Please send us the evidence by tomorrow.

•Students must enroll by the end of August.

LEARN MORE

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:

•Which of the following sentences uses prepositions correctly?

Keywords: Preposition, grammar

Subject  : English

Class  : 10-12

Sub-Chapter: Preposition

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