By = "par" "de"

S. B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

This question comes up again. In the corrections, "les maisons surmontées par une grande église" and "les maisons surmontées d'une grande église" are both suggested. I thought "par" was closer to "by" in English and "de" was closer to "with." Is this wrong?

This question relates to:French writing exercise "Drôme provençale, a little piece of heaven"

Freeform Writing Exercise C1

Asked 5 years ago

Like0Answer2

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

When you have a phrase in the passive voice, the agent can be introduced either by par or by de, so these would both be translated as "by" in this context. The choice of preposition depends on whether the verb is considered active or not.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/passive-voice/

Like15 years ago

S. B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you.

Like05 years ago

S. B. asked:

By = "par" "de"

This question comes up again. In the corrections, "les maisons surmontées par une grande église" and "les maisons surmontées d'une grande église" are both suggested. I thought "par" was closer to "by" in English and "de" was closer to "with." Is this wrong?

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