The words buy, by, and bye are homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings.
The verb buy means to purchase.
The preposition by has several meanings, including near, through, and on behalf of.
The interjection bye (or bye-bye) is a shorter form of goodbye.
Examples:
- When you buy a candy bar, you expect it to contain sugar.
- Quite by chance, I found an old photograph of my grandfather, posing by the old mill pond.
- "Bye," Jessica said, and then she disappeared into the crowd.
Practice Exercises:
(a) You can _____ a book, but you can't _____ intelligence.
(b) Gretta said _____ and hung up the phone.
(c) _____ tomorrow, the crime scene will be totally fenced in with barbed wire.
Answers to Practice Exercises
Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words
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