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Thread: "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

  1. #1
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    Default "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

    Which sentence is correct, (1) or (2), or both?

    (1) "Yesterday, I cut the grass by the use of my new lawn mower."

    (2) "Yesterday, I cut the grass by use of my new lawn mower."

    Regards
    Zoran

    p.s. I know it would be better to say "...using my new lawn mower" but I am interested in the specific phrase "by the use of" or "by use of".

  2. #2
    emsr2d2 is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

    Quote Originally Posted by zorank View Post
    Which sentence is correct, (1) or (2), or both?

    (1) "Yesterday, I cut the grass by the use of my new lawn mower."

    (2) "Yesterday, I cut the grass by use of my new lawn mower."

    Regards
    Zoran
    Neither.

    I would use any one of the following:

    Yesterday I cut the grass with my new lawnmower.
    Yesterday I cut the grass using my new lawnmower.
    Yesterday I cut the grass by using my new lawnmower.

    The third sentence, using "by", is the least natural of the three.
    bhaisahab, dawnngcm and 5jj like this.

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    Default Re: "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

    Are there examples where "by the use of" and "by use of" would be natural?

  4. #4
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    5jj
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    Default Re: "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

    Quote Originally Posted by zorank View Post
    Are there examples where "by the use of" and "by use of" would be natural?
    COCA has 206 examples of 'by use of' and 533 of 'by the use of'. I didn't spot any with 'lawnmower'.

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    zorank's Avatar
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    Default Re: "by the use of..." or "by use of..."

    Gee! Many thanks! I checked the site and it is just great! Seeing examples how phrases are used helped a lot!
    Z.

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