preposition

by

Translation

by, near, past, via

The book was written by him.

He lives by the river.

Please finish it by Friday.

I travel by train.

((sth.)) by ((sb./sth.)) to indicate the agent in a passive sentence The cake was made by my mum.

by ((a place)) to indicate location I sat by the window.

by ((a time)) to indicate a deadline Submit the report by 5 PM.

by ((-ing/noun)) to indicate a method She learns by listening.

Synonyms: near, via, through; Antonyms: far from

From Old English 'bi', meaning 'near, in, about'.

Think of standing 'by' a tree. It shows location, and the tree is the agent providing shade. This covers two main meanings.