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Preposition after verb

Attend to or attend by?

Attend to is the standard combination when you mean deal with, care for, or pay attention to something. Attend by is not a normal modern English pattern after the verb attend.

Quick answer

Use attend to for care, action, or attention

Use attend to when someone deals with a task, helps a person, or pays attention. Do not normally use attend by as a verb-preposition combination. In phrases such as attended by security guards, by introduces the agent in a passive structure, not a fixed preposition after attend.

She needs to attend to the customer
He finally attend to the repairs
Please attend to your work

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
attend to + task

Dealing with work or responsibilities

Use attend to when someone handles or takes care of a task.

I must attend to these emails before lunch
2
attend to + person

Caring for or helping someone

Attend to can mean help, serve, or care for a person.

A nurse came to attend to the patient
3
attend to + detail/problem

Paying attention to something

Use attend to for careful attention or action.

The report fails to attend to several safety concerns
4
attended by + person

Passive structure showing accompaniment or agency

In attended by, by is part of a passive phrase, not a preposition selected by attend.

The singer arrived attended by two assistants

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
attend to
We need to attend to the complaint immediately.
Standard pattern meaning deal with or give attention to something.
attend by
Not standard: She attended by the manager.
Not an idiomatic active verb-preposition combination in modern English.
attended by
The ceremony was attended by local officials.
Passive structure meaning people were present at the ceremony.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using attend by instead of attend to

Use attend to for tasks, care, and attention.

✕ He will attend by the issue tomorrow. ✓ He will attend to the issue tomorrow.

Confusing attend with attend to

Attend usually means go to an event. Attend to means deal with something.

✕ I attended the customer. ✓ I attended to the customer.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Please ___ the damaged equipment today.
2. The ambassador was attended ___ security staff.
3. She stopped to attend ___ her child.

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Frequently asked questions

Is attend by ever correct?

Not as a normal active verb-preposition combination. By commonly appears in passive phrases such as attended by guests.

What does attend to mean?

It means deal with, care for, or pay attention to something or someone.

Can attend be used without a preposition?

Yes. Attend can mean go to an event, as in attend a meeting or attend school.

abandon, by, abandon, in "abduct by", "abduct in" or "abduct from"? abide by, in, with, to or on? "abolish in" or "abolish by"? "abound in" or "abound with"? "absorb by", "absorb into" or "absorb in"? "accelerate by", "accelerate to" or "accelerate in"? accentuate by, with, in or under? accept by, in, as, for or into? "accommodate in", "accommodate for" or "accommodate to"? "accomplish by" or "accomplish in"? "accord to" or "accord with"?

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