Word Choice – Difference Between ‘To Enter Through’, ‘To Enter From’, ‘To Enter By’

prepositionsword-choice

Are all of the sentences below correct and usual? Do they mean the same?

  • He entered the bedroom through the window.
  • He entered the bedroom from the window.
  • He entered the bedroom by the window.

Best Answer

All three are possible and grammatically correct. However

"He entered the bedroom through the window."

is by far the most common way of saying it. "Through" is associated with means of access to the bedroom, doors and windows, .

"He entered the bedroom from the window."

would be more commonly used as

"He entered the bedroom from the room next door"

as "from" implies he came from another place into the bedroom.

"He entered the bedroom by the window"

probably needs some modification such as

"He entered the bedroom by opening the window"

or

"He entered the bedroom by means of the window"

otherwise it has a possible meaning of

"He entered the bedroom next to the window"

which is possible, but not common.

A fourth, correct version is

"He entered the bedroom via the window"

via having the same meaning as through in this case.