PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES WITH BY MEANING AND

EXAMPLES
Prepositional Meaning Example
phrase

By accident Unintentionally; by chance I found my ring by accident when tidying

the wardrobe.

By all accounts According to what people I’ve made enquiries, and by all
say accounts this is the best hotel in the area.

By all means Of course; certainly If you’d like a copy you may have one by
all means.

By and by After a short while; You will get used to the lifestyle by and by.
eventually

By and large In general; on the whole By and large our trip was very enjoyable.

By appointment You must arrange a time In the off-season you can visit the castle by
beforehand appointment.

By chance Unintentionally; without plan He met her by chance in a bookshop.

or intent

By degrees Gradually; little by little She adapted to her new environment by

degrees.

By hand By a person, not a machine The dresses and jackets are embroidered by
hand.

By heart By memorisation At school we had to learn multiplication

tables by heart.
By invitation Only possible if you receive It’s strictly private. Membership is by
(only) an invitation. invitation only.

By law A rule that is legally Restaurants are required by law to display

imposed. their prices outside.

By mistake Not deliberately; in error. The letter was sent by mistake to the wrong
address.

By nature Inborn or hereditary She is optimistic by nature. She always sees

characteristics the bright side of things.

By no means Not at all It is by no means easy to adapt to a new

country.

By now Before this moment Dad’s getting worried. Lucy should be

home by now.