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Hanuman_2000 Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

By

Sir,


The word "by" isn passive voice is used for doer, not for an instrument.
e.g

A dog is hit by Ram.

He was shot dead with gun.


But I am not clear about given below sentence


He was shot dead by enemy fire.


Thanks.
  

Top answer

"by" has many uses. One of its uses is to mark the agent in a passive sentence. Another meaning is closer to "because of", which we see in He was shot dead by enemy fire.

— CalifJim

  • "by" has many uses.
  • One of its uses is to mark the agent in a passive sentence.
  • Another meaning is closer to "because of", which we see in He was shot dead by enemy fire.
  • This is sometimes called a semi-passive.
  • Other semi-passives are We were delighted by all the lights and party decorations and Laura was embarrassed by George's behavior .
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1 Answers
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"by" has many uses. One of its uses is to mark the agent in a passive sentence.

Another meaning is closer to "because of", which we see in He was shot dead by enemy fire. This is sometimes called a semi-passive.

Other semi-passives are We were delighted by all the lights and party decorations and Laura was embarrassed by George's behavior.

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