Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality

Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality: As we covered before, Prepositions are words that link either the noun, or the pronoun with another word in the sentence so as to form a relationship between them. To define it: A preposition is a word usually placed before a Noun(or a pronoun) to show it’s relation to another element in the sentence. This element could be another noun, adjective or verb.

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In our previous chapters, we read about the introduction and kinds of Prepositions. Further, we went one step further and dissected each kind one by one, which leads us to our chapter here – Prepositions of Agency or Instrumentality. Let’s understand it further:

Browse more Topics under Prepositions

• Introduction to Prepositions
• Kinds of Preposition
• Preposition of Cause, Reason, Purpose
• Preposition of Contrast, Concession
• Preposition of Inference, Motive, Source, or Origin
• Preposition of Manner
• Preposition of Measure, Standard, Rate, Value
• Preposition of Place
• Preposition of Possession
• Prepositions of Time

Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality:

These prepositions are usually placed to connect the doer and the doing, basically the noun and the verb. Agent, as you know, is the connector. It’s that which makes something happen. So that means Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality are placed in a sentence to fulfil the purpose of showing an agent. Let’s see which words do this and how:

1. By:

By is usually used to show a doing by a person. Let’s see a few examples to get this fully:

• This food store is constructed by my father. (A doing was done by a person- Construction is the action and father is the noun, and by is the preposition connecting them to show their relation.)
• Harry Potter was written by J.K. Rowling.
• The much acclaimed song “Something” was written by none other than Sir George Harrison.
• This sweater was knitted for me by my grandmother.

2. With: 

Usually used to show a doing by a thing, with is another Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality.  Let’s see a few examples:

• We drove away the mosquitoes with the repellant spray. (A doing was done with something- Drove away is the action and the repellant spray is the noun that the preposition with is connecting. The purpose of the preposition here as you can see is to show the agent of the action- Preposition of Agency or Instrumentality.)
• We flushed out the dirt from the terrace with water. (The verb or the action here is flushed out and the noun is water. The act was done using the noun, water and the word showing this agency is shown using the the preposition- with.)
• Mother chopped onions with a knife.

Alternatively, usually places where “with the help of” phrase is used can be replaced by with. We will see that the same words can be used in most kinds of prepositions alike. The key difference lies in the purpose we use the preposition for. You know which prepositions to use for agency or instrumentality. Keep having fun with grammar!