Fill in the blanks with by or with.
1He was hit ............... a heavy object.
Wrong!
Use "with" because a heavy object is the instrument used to hit him.
2He was hit ............... a speeding car.
Wrong!
Use "by" because a speeding car is the thing that hit him in this passive sentence.
3The cat was run over ............... a car.
Wrong!
Use "by" because a car is the thing that ran over the cat.
4The spider was killed ............... a stone.
Wrong!
Use "with" because a stone is the instrument used to kill the spider.
5The building was destroyed ............... fire.
Wrong!
Use "by" because fire is the cause of the destruction.
6The winners were praised ............... the teachers.
Wrong!
Use "by" because the teachers are the people who praised the winners.
7The class was packed ............... students.
Wrong!
Use "with" because students are filling the class.
8He was covered ............... a blanket.
Wrong!
Use "with" because a blanket is the covering on him.
9The tree was cut down ............... a chainsaw.
Wrong!
Use "with" because a chainsaw is the instrument used to cut down the tree.
10I was interrupted ............... her.
Wrong!
Use "by" because she is the person who interrupted the speaker.
11The suspect was interrogated ............... the police.
Wrong!
Use "by" because the police are the people who interrogated the suspect.
12We were taught ............... a native speaker.
Wrong!
Use "by" because a native speaker is the person who taught us.
Answers
- He was hit with a heavy object.
- He was hit by a speeding car.
- The cat was run over by a car.
- The spider was killed with a stone.
- The building was destroyed by fire.
- The winners were praised by the teachers.
- The class was packed with students.
- He was covered with a blanket.
- The tree was cut down with a chainsaw.
- I was interrupted by her.
- The suspect was interrogated by the police.
- We were taught by a native speaker.
