preposition
1
BAD : He managed to open the lid by a screwdriver.
GOOD : He managed to open the lid with a screwdriver.
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You do something with a tool, instrument, etc (NOT by ): 'He opened the envelope with a chopstick.' 'You can't eat spaghetti with a spoon.'
2
BAD : I am staying in a small town by Oxford.
GOOD : I am staying in a small town near Oxford.
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by = next to or very close to something: 'I've been sitting by the phone all morning waiting for her to ring.' 'I'll meet you on the corner, by the bank.'
When talking about the position of towns, cities, countries etc, use near : 'I spent the first month in a little village called Farchant, near Garmen-Partenkirchen.'
3
BAD : We can gain a lot of knowledge by these books.
GOOD : We can gain a lot of knowledge from these books.
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You get information from a source: 'You can learn a great deal from a good dictionary.' 'I obtained their new number from directory enquiries.'
4
BAD : Being locked up is a punishment by itself.
GOOD : Being locked up is a punishment in itself.
BAD : Money by itself is of no interest to me.
GOOD : Money in itself is of no interest to me.
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in itself = without anything added: 'His offer to pay for the repairs is in itself an admission of guilt.'
5
See MADE (↑ made ), REASON 5 (↑ reason ) , REPLACE (↑ replace ) , SEE 2 (↑ see )