by vs with：誰做的？用什麼做的？

by vs with：誰做的？用什麼做的？

"The cake was made with my grandmother." 等等，你阿嬤是烘焙師，還是其中一種食材？歡迎來到 by vs with 的問題現場，在這裡一個介系詞決定你的句子是溫馨感人，還是不小心變得驚悚。

快速解答

by 告訴你誰做了某件事，或某件事是怎麼發生的（在方法層級——交通、付款、管道）。with 告訴你用了什麼工具，或跟誰一起。如果可以回答「被誰？」——用 by。如果可以回答「用什麼？」或「跟誰？」——用 with。

核心規則

  • by = 動作者（"The novel was written by Murakami"）和方法（"I came by train," "I'll pay by card," "Reach me by email"）。
  • with = 工具或器具（"Cut it with scissors," "She wrote with a pencil"）和同伴（"I went with a friend"）。

快速心算：如果把介系詞拿掉，名詞會變成「動作的執行者」，就用 by。如果那個名詞是「被使用的東西」或「同伴」，就用 with。

真實例句

動作者（執行的人）—— by

  • The painting was finished by a student.
  • This song was written by a teenager.
  • The window was broken by the storm.

交通、付款、通訊的方式 —— by

  • I usually go to work by bike.
  • Can I pay by card?
  • Just send the document by email.
  • She contacted me by phone.

工具或器具 —— with

  • He opened the bottle with a coin.
  • She drew the diagram with a red pen.
  • I cleaned the screen with a soft cloth.

同伴 —— with

  • I had dinner with my parents.
  • He arrived with two enormous suitcases.
  • She left the party with a headache.（雖然頭痛不是真的同伴，但這是同一種「伴隨」結構。）

有趣的特例：pay by vs pay with

兩個都對，母語者兩個都用：

  • "I paid by credit card." — 講的是付款方式，像在表單上勾選一個方框。
  • "I paid with my credit card." — 講的是當下你手上拿著的那個實物。

在謹慎的商業書寫和表單上，by 聽起來稍微正式、稍微抽象（"Payment by card accepted"）。在日常口語裡，with 聽起來比較具體（"I'll just pay with my card"）。兩個都很自然。這是少數幾個 by 和 with 之間真的有點模糊的地方。

常見錯誤

  • "The book was written with Hemingway." → "The book was written by Hemingway." · 海明威是*作者（動作者），不是工具。*
  • "I cut the paper by scissors." → "I cut the paper with scissors." · 剪刀是你手上的*工具，所以用 with。中文「用」太萬用，會混到這兩個。*
  • "I'll go to the airport with bus." → "I'll go to the airport by bus." · 交通方式用 by，而且不加冠詞。
  • "She came at the meeting by her boss." → "She came to the meeting with her boss." · 同伴用 with，不是 by。
  • "We talked with phone for an hour." → "We talked by phone for an hour."（或 "on the phone"）· 通訊管道用 by。

一個好用的小撇步：當 by 後面接交通方式時，英文通常會把冠詞拿掉。我們說 "by car"、"by bus"、"by plane"——沒有 "a" 也沒有 "the"。但只要換成 in/on（見我們的交通工具文章），冠詞就會回來："in the car"、"on the bus"。

考試陷阱

閱讀和聽力部分很愛把 by 和 with 塞在同一個句子裡讓考生混淆。典型句型："The report was prepared by the marketing team with input from external consultants." 然後理解題會問誰準備了報告、誰貢獻了內容。如果你不把 by（執行者）和 with（協助者或工具）分開，就會搞混。TOEIC Part 5 和 Part 6 也把這個藏在被動句裡：像 "The proposal was reviewed ___ a panel of experts" 必須用 by，因為 "a panel of experts" 是動作者，不是工具。慢下來，問「誰做的？」對比「用了什麼？」，答案自然會跳出來。

小試身手

  1. The email was sent _____ the project manager last night.
  2. She fixed the chair _____ a screwdriver and some glue.
  3. We can confirm the booking _____ email or phone.
  4. He traveled across the country _____ his best friend.
  5. Most students get to campus _____ bike.

解答

  1. by — 專案經理是被動動詞 was sent 的執行者。
  2. with — 螺絲起子和膠水是工具。
  3. by — Email 和 phone 是通訊管道，用 by。
  4. with — 同伴用 with。
  5. by — 交通方式用 by，不加冠詞。

一句總結

  • by = 誰做的（動作者）或以什麼方式完成（by train、by email、by card）。
  • with = 用什麼工具（with a knife）或跟誰一起（with a friend）。
  • Pay by card 跟 pay with a card 都可以；by 偏正式、with 偏具體。
  • by 後面接交通方式時記得拿掉冠詞（"by bus" 不是 "by the bus"）。

選之前問自己兩個問題：誰在做？ 還有 他們在用什麼？ 回答這兩個，by 和 with 就不再是猜謎遊戲了。