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English is my second language. Which of the following is correct?

  1. Replaced with a new printer.

  2. Replaced by a new printer.

Community
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ann
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3 Answers3

1

Either preposition is fine, and they mean exactly the same. But by is currently more common...

Note that things change significantly if you include an object after the verb...

But that change only really took off a few decades ago, and it's got nothing to do with "grammar" as such - it's just an idiomatic preference that happens to have become widespread. But my guess is that within a few more decades, with will probably be more common in all contexts.

FumbleFingers
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0

Fred replaced the printer with a new one. The printer was replaced by a new one, by Fred.

keshlam
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  • I don't actually disagree with the point I assume you're making, but the person doing the replacing is missing from your second example. And lets face it, most of us would have misgivings about "The printer was replaced by a new one by me", which would be the more complete version of your first sentence re-cast into the passive. – FumbleFingers May 30 '14 at 17:51
  • Granted; I'll edit. – keshlam May 30 '14 at 18:30
-2

with is the correct word. by is usually used to refer to whoever performed the replacement, e.g. "Replaced by the technician with a new printer". It can also be used to introduce a process, e.g. "Replaced by getting a new printer".

Barmar
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