2

Please consider the follow two sentences:

  1. It is hard to agree that by increasing sports facilities is the best way to improve public health.

  2. The best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of sports facilities.

Why the first sentence does not need the preposition "by" while the second one does.

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

In sentence 1 what follows "that" is an independent clause that stands on its own: "Increasing sports facilities is the best way to improve public health." There is no need for "by" in the clause.

In sentence 2 what follows "is" is a prepositional phrase "by increasing the number of sports facilities." Absent "by", there occurs an unintended linkage of "is increasing" as a continuous tense of the verb BE. And this cannot be, so you need the preposition to maintain the meaning of the sentence.

Improve this answer
3
  • Well, this actually can be; not everybody would note the potential ambiguity in writing, and in speech it wouldn't be ambiguous. But I agree there is a problem there.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Nov 27, 2013 at 3:23
  • I would contend that even orally sentence 2 hardly functions without "by".
    – Henry
    Commented Nov 27, 2013 at 3:39
  • Flip it around: Increasing the number of sports facilities is the best way to improve public health. Where's the by?
    – John Lawler
    Commented Nov 27, 2013 at 15:24
-1

The second sentence does not need by and the first isn't a sentence with or without by, it's a fragment. There is no subject for the verb, to agree, in the first sentence.

Improve this answer
1
  • The subject of the first sentence is "it".
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Nov 28, 2013 at 2:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .