The option B âKevin was relieved the meeting was over by noonâ is a sentence that uses prepositions properly. The preposition âbyâ is well-put on the sentence.
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EXPLANATION:
The word âbyâ 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 âbyâ as a preposition.
1.âbyâ + place
meaning is: at the side of, beside, close to, next to. Examples:
â˘The house is by the office.
â˘Erika lives by a garden.
â˘I would love to live in a house by the lake.
2.âbyâ + method of transport
structure explains how to travel somewhere such as Â
+ train/car/boat/plane/taxi/bus/coach. Examples:
â˘Ernest went to Manchester by train.
â˘I go to work by motorcycle.
â˘My cousins often go to France by plane.
â˘Our grandparents have never traveled by train before.
3.âbyâ + method of communication
structure explains how to communicate with someone.
+ telephone/post/email/fax. Examples:
â˘I spoke to Diana by telephone.
â˘She will send you the invoice by post.
â˘Please confirm the order by email.
4.âbyâ + method of payment
structure explains how to pay for something.
+ credit card/cheque. Examples:
â˘We paid for the machine by cheque.
â˘Can I pay by credit card?
â˘that âbyâ can be used for cash payments. It must use the preposition âinâ:
â˘Elisa paid in cash for the books.
â˘is also possible to delete the preposition wholly, especially in spoken English:
â˘Elisa paid cash for the books.
5.âbyâ and the passive
the passive voice, âbyâ signifies WHO is doing the action. First, take a look at the sentence using the active voice:
â˘Eki is cleaning the kitchen.
â˘the above sentence, âEkiâ is the person who does the action. When it is converted this sentence to the passive voice:
â˘The kitchen is being cleaned by Eki.
â˘are some examples. These are in the past tense:
â˘Salma wrote the book. (active)
â˘The book was written by Salma. (passive)
â˘Our office organized the concert. (active)
â˘The concert was organized by our office. (passive)
6.âbyâ + reflexive pronoun
structure means to do something alone.
+ myself/yourself/himself/herself/itself/ourselves/yourselves/themselves. Examples:
â˘I enjoy eating by myself.
â˘Salma is studying by herself.
â˘Letâs do this thing by ourselves.
â˘My parents usually go on holiday by themselves.
7.âbyâ + -ING verb
the structure explains how to do something. It provides us more information about how to get a certain result. Example:
â˘You can turn on the TV by pressing that button.
â˘the phrase âpressing the buttonâ explains how to do something (how to turn on the radio).
8.âbyâ + time expression
meaning of this structure is: not later than; before or at a particular time. The preposition âbyâ can also be employed in deadlines. A deadline is a time before that something must be done. Examples:
â˘Guests must leave their hotel rooms by 11 am.
â˘Please send us the evidence by tomorrow.
â˘Students must enroll by the end of August.
LEARN MORE
If youâre interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:
â˘Which of the following sentences uses prepositions correctly?
Keywords: Preposition, grammar
Subject  : English
Class  : 10-12
Sub-Chapter: Preposition