Learn English – By, with, using or via here

grammarword-differenceword-request

  • So, what do you think of the application I finished yesterday? Would you correct anything?
  • I support your idea, but the client would appreciate it more if it was completed by/with/using/via other software.

What is the best choice here and why?

Best Answer

I would go with using. Here are what I think are the problems with the other word choices:

  • by - This makes it sound like the software did all the work, without any human intervention. The work was actually done *by* a human with the help of the software.
  • with - This word kind of works in this context, but I think it's better to use using since using is a verb and thus indicates an action - with doesn't tell you what the person would be doing with the software (which is, of course, *using* it).
  • via - This word sounds awkward to me in this context. It is mostly used as a synonym of "by way of", as in "I'm flying to Hawaii via California". It can also be used to mean something is like a stepping-stone in a less literal sense, as in "She arrived at the answer via brainstorming." In other words, I think you would mostly use this word when you are talking about a path (literal or figurative) to somewhere with any number of "stops" on the way. In this sentence, the software is not like a stop on the way, but is the thing the person is using the entire time they are working to complete the application.
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