By vs. From: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Published on January 9, 2024
"By" often indicates an agent performing an action or a means of doing something, while "from" generally denotes the starting point, origin, or source.
Key Differences
By is used to identify the agent performing an action in passive voice constructions or to indicate the means or method used in an action. From indicates the point of origin or source, be it a location, starting time, or the origin of a material or product.
Shumaila Saeed
Jan 09, 2024
By often sets the scene for an action, specifying the person or thing responsible for it, or the manner in which it is done. It's also used in expressions of time to denote a deadline. From is utilized to express separation, origin, or the point in time or space where something starts or originates.
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Jan 09, 2024
By can serve to show the creator of a work or the instrument used in an action. For example, a book written by an author, or a task completed by using a specific tool. From is more about differentiation or a transition, as in moving from one place to another, or a change from one state to another.
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Jan 09, 2024
By is also used in measurements or increments, like traveling by car, or in expressions like “step by step.” It can indicate proximity as well. From is key in showing contrasts or comparisons, such as differentiating an item from others, or indicating a range in time or distance, like Monday from 9 AM.
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Jan 09, 2024
Comparison Chart
Primary Use
Indicates an agent, means, or manner
Denotes origin, source, or starting point
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Jan 09, 2024
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Passive Voice
Identifies the doer in passive constructions
Not typically used in passive voice
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Jan 09, 2024
Time Expressions
Used to indicate deadlines or increments
Indicates starting time or duration
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Jan 09, 2024
Spatial Relation
Can indicate proximity or method of travel
Indicates departure, separation, or origin
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Context in Sentences
“Written by John,” “Travel by air”
“From the beginning,” “Letters from home”
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Jan 09, 2024
By and From Definitions
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From
Showing a range in distance or time.
The event runs from July to August.
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Dec 17, 2023
From
Indicating a transition or change.
He shifted from teaching to writing.
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Dec 17, 2023
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From
Used to indicate a specified place or time as a starting point
Walked home from the station.
From six o'clock on. See Usage Notes at escape, whence.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate a specified point as the first of two limits
From grades four to six.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate a source, cause, agent, or instrument
A note from the teacher.
Taking a book from the shelf.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate constituent material or materials
A table made from wood.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate separation, removal, or exclusion
Keep someone from making a mistake.
Liberation from bondage.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate source or provenance.
Paul is from New Zealand.
I got a letter from my brother.
You can't get all your news from the Internet.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Used to indicate a succession of specified individuals, groups, or quantities
One by one they left. They were persuaded little by little.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate a starting point or initial reference.
He had books piled from floor to ceiling.
He departed yesterday from Chicago.
This figure has been changed from a one to a seven.
Face away from the wall!
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating a starting point in time.
The working day runs from 9 am to 5 pm.
Tickets are available from 17th July.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating a starting point on a range or scale.
Rate your pain from 1 to 10.
Start counting from 1.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Toward. Used to express direction with points of the compass
South by east.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating a starting point on an array or gamut of conceptual variations.
You can study anything from math to literature.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
With reference to the location or position of a speaker or other observer or vantage point.
It's hard to tell from here.
Try to see it from his point of view.
The bomb went off just 100 yards from where they were standing.
From the top of the lighthouse you can just see the mainland.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
(MLE) Indicates a starting state of the predicament of the subject. since being
I’ve been doing this from pickney.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating removal or separation.
After twenty minutes, remove the cake from the oven.
The general was ousted from power.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating exclusion.
She was barred from entering.
A parasol protects from the sun.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Indicating differentiation.
Your opinions differ from mine.
He knows right from wrong.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Produced with or out of (a substance or material).
It's made from pure gold.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
The stream runs by our back door.
He ran straight by me.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Used to indicate causation; because of, as a result of.
Too many people die from breast cancer.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).
Be back by ten o'clock!.
We'll find someone by the end of March.
We will send it by the first week of July.
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Dec 13, 2023
From
Out of the neighborhood of; lessening or losing proximity to; leaving behind; by reason of; out of; by aid of; - used whenever departure, setting out, commencement of action, being, state, occurrence, etc., or procedure, emanation, absence, separation, etc., are to be expressed. It is construed with, and indicates, the point of space or time at which the action, state, etc., are regarded as setting out or beginning; also, less frequently, the source, the cause, the occasion, out of which anything proceeds; - the antithesis and correlative of to; as, it, is one hundred miles from Boston to Springfield; he took his sword from his side; light proceeds from the sun; separate the coarse wool from the fine; men have all sprung from Adam, and often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse; the merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds; men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony.
Experience from the time past to the time present.
The song began from Jove.
From high Mæonia's rocky shores I came.
If the wind blow any way from shore.
Sudden partings such as pressThe life from out young hearts.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Following a passive verb.
The matter was decided by the chairman.
The boat was swamped by the water.
He was protected by his body armour.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
(not in common modern use) Following an adjective.
I was aghast by what I saw.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.
By Pythagoras' theorem, we can calculate the length of the hippopotamus.
We went by bus.
I discovered it by chance.
By 'maybe' she means 'no'.
The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Invokes an authority in an oath.
By Jove! I think she's got it!
By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
I sorted the items by category.
Table 1 shows details of our employees broken down by sex and age.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
Our stock is up by ten percent.
His date of birth was wrong by ten years.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
We went through the book page by page.
We crawled forward by inches.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
Sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross
He drinks brandy by the bucketful!
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Per; with or in proportion to each.
His health was deteriorating by the day.
The pickers are paid by the bushel.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicates a referenced source: According to.
He cheated by his own admission.
By my reckoning, we should be nearly there.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.
The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.
The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
(horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.
She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
At, with, among
Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)
By Chabad, it's different. (with, among)
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Dec 13, 2023
By
To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
I'll stop by on my way home from work.
We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Aside, away.
The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
By foundation or by shady rivuletHe sought them both.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
Long labors both by sea and land he bore.
By land, by water, they renew the charge.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Out of the common path; aside; - used in composition, giving the meaning of something aside, secondary, or incidental, or collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as, by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. It was formerly more freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business, by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc.
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Dec 13, 2023
By
In reserve; not for immediate use;
Started setting aside money to buy a car
Put something by for her old age
Has a nestegg tucked away for a rainy day
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Dec 13, 2023
By
Indicating the agent in passive voice.
The novel was written by a famous author.
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Dec 17, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Is "by" used in passive constructions?
Yes, "by" identifies the agent in passive voice sentences.
Shumaila Saeed
Jan 09, 2024
How is "from" used to denote origin?
"From" is used to specify the starting point or source of something.
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Jan 09, 2024
Does "from" express a time duration?
Yes, "from" can denote the beginning of a time period.
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Jan 09, 2024
How does "from" indicate a change?
"From" can show a transition from one state, condition, or activity to another.
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Jan 09, 2024
Can "by" express proximity?
Yes, "by" can be used to indicate nearness or closeness.
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Jan 09, 2024
How does "from" work in expressions of separation?
"From" is used to indicate departure or separation from a place or state.
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Jan 09, 2024
What does "from" mean in terms of distance?
"From" can show the starting point of a distance or range.
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Jan 09, 2024
What does "by" indicate in a sentence?
"By" often indicates the agent or means in an action.
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Jan 09, 2024
How is "by" used in context of travel?
"By" can refer to the mode of transportation, like traveling by car.
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Jan 09, 2024
What does "by" mean in measurements?
"By" can indicate measurements or increments.
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Jan 09, 2024
Is "from" used to show contrasts?
Yes, "from" can differentiate one thing from another.
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Jan 09, 2024
How is "from" used in culinary contexts?
"From" can indicate the origin of ingredients, like "olives from Italy."
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Jan 09, 2024
What is an example of "by" indicating method?
An example is "She cut the paper by hand."
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Jan 09, 2024
Is "from" used in business communications?
Yes, "from" is often used in business to indicate the source of information or correspondence.
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Jan 09, 2024
Can "from" indicate a reason or cause?
Yes, "from" can express the cause or reason for something.
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Jan 09, 2024
Can "by" express increments in processes?
Yes, "by" can be used in phrases like "step by step."
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Jan 09, 2024
Can "from" be used in historical contexts?
Yes, "from" is often used to indicate a point in history, like "from the 18th century."
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Jan 09, 2024
Does "by" work in artistic contexts?
Yes, "by" is common in artistic contexts to indicate the artist or creator.
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Jan 09, 2024
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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