Understanding “by” as an adverb

Using "by" as an adverb.

Hi Jonathan,

“Tom hit a lamp post because he was staring at a hot girl jogging by.”

This sentence is from Blinktrainer.

Could you tell me why you use the last word, “by”?

Most students are used to “by” being used as a preposition, which means they are expecting something more in the sentence.

But “by” can also be an adverb, which is how it is used in this sentence.

In this case, it means “to and beyond a point near something” or “past”.

The girl jogs in Tom’s direction, passes a point somewhere near him, and then continues past him.

Another example: “A police car drove by.”

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