alc24  +  948058 Tue, 20 Oct 09 12:32 PM Could anyone tell me please? In or BY  1 He made a big mistake in/by doing that. 2 He wasted no time (in) kissing her. (he didn't beat around the bush) (a girl he hardly knew) thank you alc24 Joined on Sat, Jul 25 2009 Contributing Member 1,443 Mistakes

	Navendu  +  948079 Tue, 20 Oct 09 01:20 PM I can suggest about the first it must be "he made a big mistake by doing that" Navendu Joined on Tue, Oct 20 2009 New Member 06 Mistakes

	jemaasjr  +  948142 Tue, 20 Oct 09 02:50 PM By usually means before a due date, "Finish by Friday," or it names the doer of an action as it does here. If you say "He wasted no time by kissing her," you would be saying he avoided waisting time by kissing her (he was the doer of the action). Your understanding of in is correct and it would be the more common thing to say. jemaasjr Joined on Wed, Sep 30 2009 Full Member 136 JohnnyBoy Dates

	alc24  +  948480 Tue, 20 Oct 09 10:11 PM So for number 2 its IN but what about number ONE? Does number 2 MEAN WHAT I think it means? thanks alc24 Writing, Numbers

	jemaasjr  +  948489 Tue, 20 Oct 09 10:23 PM 1) In 1 they are so close to the same thing that I can not draw a clear difference. "by" would be more common useage. 2)Yes. jemaasjr

	dimsumexpress  +  948501 Tue, 20 Oct 09 10:41 PM I have these thoughts:   jemaasjr “ By usually means before a due date, "Finish by Friday," This I buy. or it names the doer of an action as it does here. I have to ponder on this one...   If you say "He wasted no time by kissing her," you would be saying he avoided waisting time by kissing her (he was the doer of the action). Your understanding of in is correct and it would be the more common thing to say. ”  I am lost ..!   By- depending on how it's used, its meaning can vary.   He came to the US by boat/ sea many years ago- By- means with method of. He always lives his life by taking shortcuts.   She stood by me no matter the difficulty. By- means next to.   She lives on Jackson St. by 10 Ave.  By- means crossing. So without an explicit context, the meaning is hard to precisely defined.     dimsumexpress Joined on Mon, Oct 12 2009 Full Member 290 Dates, Context

	jemaasjr  +  948544 Wed, 21 Oct 09 12:10 AM Well, reading your comments, my own, and looking it up in a dictionary, there seem to be two major uses for by. 1)The first and most frequent use is that it specifies the means or manner in which something is accomplished. When you say the house was built by the men, you are not so much specifying the builder as specifying the means. A man lives by himself explains the manner in how he lives. Crossing the ocean by boat explains the means. by taking short cuts by boat We go by the clock. (the reference to time is how they operate) shorter by two inches - Explains how the shortness is accomplished, by two inches in this case. 2)The second use is near or passing by. walking past the house: walking by the house standing next to, standing by somebody (giving support by being close) She lives on Jackson St. by 10 Ave. By- (This is not normally directions, this is location. On Jackson near or at 10th Ave.) We will be ready by six o'clock. (near the time) By the time we get to town, he will be ready. (Apparently specifying the closeness between when we get to town and when he will be ready.) By the way, did you know that... ( Indicates a side comment, something not central to a discussion. Way is an old fashioned or not common word for road or path. Apparently an analogy between being at the side of a road (by the road) and something being less important) So, what do you think? jemaasjr Analogies, References, Business, Career

	dimsumexpress  +  948671 Wed, 21 Oct 09 04:02 AM In a nutshell, I think we are on the same page. X by Y = X intersects Y. I agree it's not a direction. I've reserved a table by the window. By = next to.   So the point is, in order to define whether the use of "by" is correct, it really depends on the entire context. dimsumexpress Context