an English question?

Question

"Can you let me know when we get by there"
should I say "get around there" instead of get by there

What's the difference between by and around ?

Where is a bathroom around here?
where is a bathroom by here?
are both correct?

Answer 1

I'd say, "Where's a bathroom around here?"

"Can you let me know when we get NEAR there?" (like, an interstate exit or some landmark you're looking for.

Or, "Let me know when we're close."

"By" would be more like, "Take the road that runs by the river, not the one that crosses it." Or, "You'll go by three ugly blue houses and one yard full of kangaroos before you get to the turn-off to my mansion."

"By" is more where you're going along the way, not a declaration that you're at a destination. Or it means something was done BY somebody, like, if you wrote a book, it would be BY you.

"Around" is somewhat vague, like, "Around here, we put up plenty of lights for the holidays." It's not any particular place, just a general location.

Like, if somebody says, "I'll be around here for the next week, so I'll give you a call," it means he/she will be in the area, but isn't telling you any specific details or locations or when he/she will call, exactly. But the person is making a vague promise of calling sometime or other. The "around" part means the person isn't saying, "I'll be at my mom's house for three days, and then I'll be in a hotel, and then I'll be in a tent, and then I'll sleep at my cousin's house..." it's not that detailed.

It's just...around. Not here or there, just around.

Answer 2

It depends on the intention of your sentence. Looking at, "Can you let me know when we get by there?", gives the impression that you want to know when you have passed the place you're speaking about. I understand that, for some reason, you do not want to see that place.

If you replace BY with AROUND, "Can you let me know when we get arounf there?", you tell people that you are interested in the particular place. You suggest that you want to see it, or that you want to stop there to visit. In those sentences, that is the basic difference between the the use of by or around.

In your sentences, "Where is a bathroom around here?" and "Where is a bathroom by here?", the first one (using around) is much better. You need to say "Where is THERE a bathroom around here?" because you want to know its location in a place you don't know. The second one (using by) doesn't clearly indicate anything.

Another suggestion: "Is there a bathroom around here?" or Is there a bathroom nearby?" would give the same information. Don't use BY in this situation.

Answer 3

"Where is the bathroom around here?" is correct usage in the US, as is "Where is the bathroom here".

If you were in Australia, New Zealand or England then you would need to say, "Where is the toilet?" or "Where is the toilet around here?" Americans use the word "bathroom", which is a room for washing oneself in a shower or bath, to mean a toilet (lavatory).

"Where is the bathroom by here?" is not a correct sentence as it does not make sense.

Answer 4

I would think it was weird if someone said "Where is a bathroom by here?"
But I would still know what they meant.

Both of the first sentences you wrote were correct.

"around" is the more general term.

Answer 5

I think native speakers are more likely to say these:

Can you let me know when we get near there?
Can you let me know when we're around there?

Where is a bathroom around here?
Is there a bathroom by here?

Answer 6

In the context you use the prepositions, "by" indicates a more specific spot, whereas "around" speaks in a more general term.

And to answer the second part, the first is correct, not the second. If you were to ask "Is there a bathroom by _________ ?" then you would be correct.

Answer 7

The use of "by" in your first sentence implies a distinct point or place, or approximately and would be the preferred choice over "around."

In your second sentence, "around" implies nearby or approximately and would be the preferred choice.

Answer 8

depends where you are in the english speaking world. `by here` tends to be welsh dialect and some west country

Answer 9

by= near
around= anywhere

both are correct

Answer 10

by= near
around= anywhere