There’s a saying – I don’t know who by – that you should ‘invest in land, because they don’t make it any more!
by在这里的用法?
A: Someone was killed.
B: Do you know who?
可以看到,who后面的不必要重复的内容完全省略了。
A: Tom was killed.
B: Do you know who by?
能够省略的尽量省略,但是by不可以(Do you know who Tom was killed by),否则就和前面一个例子一样在讲谁被杀了,但实际上我们要知道的是by引出的杀手来。B也可以说:Do you know by whom?
由此可推出,疑问代词与介词之间可以在语境充分的前提下形成各种搭配,比如
I am thinking of replacing Tom but I'm not sure who with. (replace Tom with someone else)
看到这里,你提问中的疑问也就不难解开了。
省略主语和谓语。I don't know who by=I don't know who it was said by. 我不知道这句话是谁说的。
类似例句:
He hides behind his bangs, staring out at the world like a stray dog that knows it's going to get hit but doesn't know who by.
There's a song the conference plays between program items. You don't know who by.