Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
The painting was painted _______ Pierre Renoir. [Basic]

• A. with
• B. by
• C. at
• D. from

Answer 1

The correct option is B by

The prepositions ‘with’ and ‘by’ are often confused in spite of their difference. ‘With’ is used to denote a tool used to perform something, while ‘by’ is used to refer to the agent or the person who performs the action. The given sentence Pierre Renoir is the agent who paints, therefore, option B is correct, whereas option A is incorrect. On the other hand ‘at’ and ‘from’ are used to refer to a particular spot or place, which is not the case here, hence options C and D are incorrect.